Frequency and Types of Partner Violence Among Mexican American College Women

Objective and Participants: The authors studied the prevalence of partner violence, by type, among Mexican American college women aged 18 to 35 years (N = 149; response rate = 85%). Results: Twelve percent of women who reported a dating partner in the past year were physically or sexually assaulted, 12.1% were stalked, and 9.1% scored as psychologically abused. Among those experiencing partner violence, almost half experienced stalking and 89% reported psychological abuse. Few women (25%) who experienced physical violence believed violence was a problem in their relationship. Conclusions: Partner violence was prevalent in this population, and participants experienced many forms of violence. Because few women experiencing physical violence report that violence is a problem in their relationship, interventions must address perceptions of violence and its impact on women's mental and physical health in college populations.     

Women's Education,Marital Violence,and Divorce: A Social Exchange Perspective

Drawing on social exchange theories, the authors hypothesized that educated women are more likely than uneducated women to leave violent marriages and suggested that this pattern offsets the negative education–divorce association commonly found in the United States. They tested these hypotheses using 2 waves of young adult data on 914 married women from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The evidence suggests that the negative relationship between women's education and divorce is weaker when marriages involve abuse than when they do not. The authors observed a similar pattern when they examined the association of women's proportional earnings and divorce, controlling for education. Supplementary analyses suggested that marital satisfaction explains some of the association among women's resources, victimization, and divorce but that marital violence continues to be a significant moderator of the education–divorce association. In sum, education appears to benefit women by both maintaining stable marriages and dissolving violent ones.     

Status Compatibility,Physical Violence,and Emotional Abuse in Intimate Relationships

This article analyzing national data (N = 7,408) examines the connection between men's and women's relative economic contributions in families and the risk of husband‐to‐wife physical violence and emotional abuse. Family violence researchers have conceptualized the association between economic variables and the risk of intimate partner violence with respect to the structural dimensions of sociodemographic factors, whereas feminist researchers connect economic power to family dynamics. Marital dependency and stress frustration theories treat income, education, and employment as socioeconomic resources, whereas some feminist research points to the need for research that treats these economic variables as symbolic resources. Although income and educational attainment reduce women's risk of physical violence and emotional abuse by husbands, I find that status incompatibilities between partners that favor women increase the likelihood of emotional abuse.     

The Risk of Partner Violence Among Low‐Income Hispanic Subgroups

Women with few social resources are at elevated risk of partner abuse. Certain evidence suggests that African American and Hispanic women, who are overrepresented in the lower socioeconomic strata, are at particularly high risk. We compare women's risk of partner violence, defined as moderate and severe, among 2,400 low‐income African American, Hispanic, and non‐Hispanic Whites from “Welfare, Children and Families: A Three City Study” and find that these groups differ in their risk of degrees of violence. Specific nation‐of‐origin Hispanic subgroups also manifest important differences in their violence risk profiles. We argue that a better understanding of victimization requires more detailed ethnic categorization and a more refined understanding of the meaning of domestic violence for different groups.     

Women's Work? The Relationship between Farmwork and Gender Self‐Perception

Women have long been involved in agricultural production, yet farming and ranching have been associated with masculinity and men. In recent years women have become more involved and more likely to take active and equal roles on farms and ranches and thus increasingly are doing tasks that have been associated with masculinity. Prior work indicates that women are perceived by others as more masculine when they do these tasks, but less work has focused on the association between women's involvement in farming and women's own perceptions of their gender (i.e., how masculine or feminine they feel). Using 2006 survey data from a random sample of women in livestock and grain operations in Washington State, we find that women's involvement in farm and ranch tasks is associated with their gender self‐perception, with more involvement being associated with a more masculine self‐perception. Women who view their primary role as independent agricultural producers or full partners also perceive themselves as more masculine than women who view their primary role as homemaker. We discuss the implications of these findings for women's experiences in agriculture.     

Women's “Justification” of Domestic Violence in Egypt

We explored the influences of women's social learning, marital resources and constraints, and exposure to norms about women's family roles on their views about wife hitting or beating among 5,450 participants in the 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. One half justified wife hitting or beating for some reason. Women from rural areas who were exposed to domestic violence more often justified such acts. Dependent wives whose husbands had more schooling, were blood relatives, and were coresident more often justified such acts. In settings where women tended to marry at older ages, women less often justified such acts. Women's resources and constraints in marriage accounted for the largest share of the variability in their attitudes about domestic violence against women.     

Career Patterns and Family Status of Women and Men Artists

These observations are often made about women's career outcomes: (a) women, as compared to men, do not experience career outcomes that are consistent with their training and abilities, and (b) interruptions in women's careers are linked to marriage and children. The current study examined whether these patterns applied to women in art who may have more flexible paid work schedules. Women (N = 109), who trained in art, were compared to their male classmates (N = 99) 18 years after art school. Career patterns, midlife occupations, marital status, and number of children were examined. No gender differences were noted in midlife occupations, however, women experienced significantly more career discontinuity than men, and women with discontinuous careers had significantly more children than women in continuous patterns.     

Women's Experience of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Conditions

ABSTRACT

This study explored the relationship between gender and co-occurring substance abuse and mental health conditions among a sample of 754 consumers of behavioral health services in the southwest U.S. Logistic regression was used to determine factors that would predict women's unique experience of dual diagnosis. Women were almost seven times more likely than men in this sample to have a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder in conjunction with substance abuse. Women were also significantly more likely to experience anxiety and mood disorders and to have been married. Implications of these findings for social work practice are suggested.     

Protecting Children

Abstract

In this study, difficulties that women with alcohol problems and victimization experiences might have protecting their children from victimization were investigated. Mothers of children (ages 3-17) were recruited from a longitudinal study of women, alcohol problems, and victimization; women came from alcohol treatment programs, battered women's shelters, mental health clinics, drinking and driving programs, and a random household sample. Hypothetical parenting scenarios were constructed to assess mothers' ability to protect their children from victimization trauma. Women's responses to the scenarios were analyzed thematically and coded. Next, coded responses were analyzed quantitatively to identify significant differences among women with past alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, current AOD problems, and no AOD problems. Women with current AOD problems were more likely than women with no AOD problems and women with past AOD problems to provide aggressive responses to scenarios. Women with past AOD problems were more likely than their non-addicted counterparts to perceive sexual abuse as a possibility, to attribute responsibility for the problem to the other participant only (seeing no role for their child), and to seek information about what happened from the other participant only. Findings suggest that some interpersonal problem-solving difficulties resolve when women become sober while others persist into recovery, potentially affecting women's ability to protect their children.     

Gendered Divisions of Fertility Work: Socioeconomic Predictors of Female Versus Male Sterilization

Domestic labor researchers have examined a multitude of duties disproportionately performed by women, yet the responsibility associated with navigating a couple's fertility—fertility work—has been overlooked. Using data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 1,415), the author examined how racial and socioeconomic factors affect the division of contraceptive fertility work among married and cohabiting women who rely on either their partners' vasectomies or their own sterilizations. Drawing theoretical connections between fertility work and housework, resource‐ and gender‐based perspectives were used to assess whether women's or their partners' characteristics are stronger predictors of sterilization type, and whether women's absolute or relative education level has a greater impact. Findings suggest that White and socioeconomically privileged women are more likely to have vasectomized partners than disadvantaged women. Male partners' characteristics were more closely associated with sterilization type than women's characteristics, lending greater support for the gender‐based hypotheses.     

Marriage,Marital History,and Black – White Wealth Differentials Among Older Women

This study investigated the impact of union history and marital transitions on wealth inequality between older Black and White women (N = 7,026). Cohort data from the Health and Retirement Study show large and increasing Black – White differences in wealth. Marital and relationship histories are associated with the wealth accumulation process among older women. Women who married and stay married accumulated levels of wealth that exceeded those of other women with disrupted family lives. The marriage – wealth nexus is sensitive to a woman's position in the wealth distribution. Quantile regression results revealed that racial differences in total wealth holdings between Black and White women exist throughout the wealth distribution, whereas the relationship between current union history and wealth differentials is significant at the lower tail and middle of the distribution. Decomposition analyses highlighted the nontrivial role of racial disparities in marital histories in accounting for the racial wealth gap. As members of the baby boom generation enter their retirement years, it will be more important than ever to monitor the wealth accumulation process among older single and racial/ethnic minority women.     

Wives' Relative Wages,Husbands' Paid Work Hours,and Wives' Labor‐Force Exit

Economic theories predict that women are more likely to exit the labor force if their partners' earnings are higher and if their own wage rate is lower. In this article, I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 2,254) and discrete‐time event‐history analysis to show that wives' relative wages are more predictive of their exit than are their own or their husbands' absolute wages. In addition, I show that women married to men who work more than 45 hours per week are more likely to exit the labor force than are wives whose husbands' work approximately 40 hours per week. My findings highlight the need to examine how women's partners affect women's labor‐force participation.     

Women's Engagement in Pubic Hair Removal: Motivations and Associated Factors

Objectives: To examine the relationship between women's pubic hair removal (PHR) and genital satisfaction and explore whether attitudes toward, and personal consumption of, pornography are associated with women's engagement in PHR. Methods: Data were collected by online survey from women (N = 152) who were then categorized into groups based on the prevalence and extent of PHR during the previous 4 weeks. Groups were compared on demographic, background, and behavioral variables. Results: Eighty-three percent of respondents reported PHR in the previous 4 weeks and 40% of respondents removed all their pubic hair. Women who were younger, White, and were more satisfied with their genitals were more likely to engage in PHR. Of these, being younger, not having a degree, reporting less positive attitudes toward erotica, and 3 reasons for PHR predicted extensive PHR over limited removal. Conclusions: Findings provide insights into the reasons for, and extent of, PHR among women and factors associated with the practice. The possible influences of partners' preferences for genital hair removal by women and partners' consumption of pornography are important areas for future research.     

Relationship Churning,Physical Violence,and Verbal Abuse in Young Adult Relationships

Young adults' romantic relationships are often unstable, commonly including breakup –reconcile patterns. From the developmental perspective of emerging adulthood exploration, such relationship “churning” is expected; however, minor conflicts are more common in churning relationships. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (N = 792), the authors tested whether relationship churning is associated with more serious conflict, such as physical violence and verbal abuse. Couples who were stably broken up (breakup only—no reconciliation) were similar to those who were stably together in their conflict experiences. In contrast, churners (i.e., those involved in on/off relationships) were twice as likely as those who were stably together or stably broken up to report physical violence and half again as likely to report the presence of verbal abuse in their relationships; this association between churning and conflict held net of a host of demographic, personal, and relationship characteristics. These findings have implications for our better understanding of unhealthy relationship behaviors.     

Experience of Forced Sex and Subsequent Sexual,Drug, and Mental Health Outcomes: African American and Hispanic Women in the Southeastern United States

ABSTRACT. Objectives: This cross-sectional study examined African American and Hispanic women's (N = 1,509) self-reports of unwanted forced sex and its association with behavioral and mental health outcomes after the event. Methods: Twenty percent of the women had experienced forced sex (1st occurrence at age 15 years or younger for 10%, 1st occurrence at older than 15 years of age for 10%). Results: Regardless of when forced sex 1st occurred, women were more likely to have engaged in unprotected vaginal and anal sex, to have had multiple unprotected sex partners, to have sexually transmitted infections, to have reported binge drinking and illicit drug use, and to exhibit distress and have received mental health counseling. Conclusions: Forced sex may have wide-ranging behavioral and mental health consequences years later.     

The Barbie Mystique: Satisfaction with Breast Size and Shape across the Lifespan

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of breast augmentation and breast lift surgery suggests that many women are dissatisfied with their breasts. This study analyzed women's and men's views about breast size and shape among 52,227 heterosexual adults, ages 18–65, who responded to an online survey. Although most women (70%) were dissatisfied with the size or shape of their breasts, most men (56%) were satisfied with their partner's breasts. Younger and thinner women worried that their breasts were too small; older and heavier women were more concerned with breast droopiness. Women who were dissatisfied with their breasts were more likely to report lower body satisfaction and to express concern about wearing a bathing suit in public. Further, dissatisfied women were also less willing to undress in front of their partner and were more likely to conceal their breasts from their partner during sex. These findings suggest that dissatisfaction with breasts is widespread among adult women.     

Partner Abuse Among Women Whose Children Have Been Sexually Abused: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

To explore partner abuse among women in families in which a child has disclosed sexual abuse, 102 mothers completed a measure of partner abuse and the Coping Responses Inventory. Results suggest that, like women in the general population, mothers of children who have been sexually abused have often experienced partner abuse. As expected, physical abuse in a current relationship was found to be related to the use of avoidance strategies in dealing with the sexual abuse disclosure. The implications for practitioners and for future research are discussed.     

Child Sexual Abuse and Women's Sexual Health: The Contribution of CSA Severity and Exposure to Multiple Forms of Childhood Victimization

Research studies have provided increasing evidence for the potential adverse impact of child sexual abuse on women's sexual health. The present study examined the association between child sexual abuse and sexual health while controlling for various forms of childhood victimization. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 889 young women from the province of Quebec. Results suggest that child sexual abuse survivors were more likely to report having experienced other forms of childhood victimization than were women without child sexual abuse. Women with a history of both child sexual abuse and multiple forms of victimization were at greater risk of experiencing more adverse outcomes, including risky sexual behaviors, sexual problems, and negative sexual self-concept. Regression analyses revealed that child sexual abuse was significantly related to indicators of sexual health outcomes even when controlling for the effect of single forms of victimization. Clinically, interventions optimizing sexual health may be particularly helpful for a subgroup of child sexual abuse survivors.     

The Relationship Between Nontraditional Gender Roles and Sexual Coercion

Social scientists have proposed that traditional gender role socialization contributes to sexual coercion. Data from 398 students at an eastern state university were used to examine (1) the incidence of women enacting nontraditional gender roles in dating and sexual interactions, (2) the relationship between women's enactment of nontraditional roles and their experiences with physical and nonphysical sexual coercion and (3) the incidence of men reporting nonphysical coercive strategies used by women to engage in sexual intercourse. Results showed that a majority of women had asked a man out for a date and shared or paid the entire expenses for a date and over one third had initialed a first sexual involvement with a man. No support was found for the view that women's enactment of nontraditional roles puts them at lower risk of sexual coercion. Women who reported more sex partners experienced significantly more incidents of both physical and nonphysical coercion than women with fewer sex partners. Subslantial proportions of men also reported that women tried to have sex with them by nonphysical coercive strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for high school and college sex education courses.     

Women in the Field: Women,Farming and Organizations

One striking feature of farming as an occupation is that there are few women who farm in their own right. The passing of land from father to son means that women rarely own land. Their typical entry to farming is through marriage. Women's route of entry to farming affects interpersonal relationships within the family, and also women's role in the public space of farming. Women are under‐represented in farming organizations, in training programmes, and in the politics of farming. This article focuses on the position of women within farming organizations and the interaction between (male) farming organizations and women's farming organizations. Farmers are an extremely well‐organized occupation and wield considerable political power because of this effective organization. However, farming organizations are almost entirely male. This article examines how women are treated within farming organizations, and also the interaction between (male) farming organizations and women's farming organizations. Drawing on the theory of organizations, I argue that the inclusion of women in farming organizations and the existence of women's farming organizations reinforce gender divisions within agriculture and do not in any way question the understanding of men as farmers, or the political power they hold.