Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Victims of Domestic Violence as Predicted by Selected Individual and Relationship Variables

  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Access to quality health care for victims of abuse is often limited by the attitudes of health care professionals. Data collected from female nursing students (n = 155) revealed that those students with more egalitarian sex-role beliefs and a greater sense of control over life events were more sympathetic to battered women than those students with more traditional sex-role attitudes and less perceived control. Sex-role egalitarianism was found to be the best predictor of attitudes toward victims of domestic violence. Implications for health care practitioners and policy makers are presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Alexander, P. C., Moore, S., and Alexander, E. R. (1991). What is transmitted in the intergenerational transmission of violence? J. Marr. Fam. 53(3): 657–667.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardis, P. D. (1973). Violence: Theory and quantification. J. Polit. Milit. Sociol. 1: 121–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beere, C. A., King, D. W., Beere, D. B., and King, L. A. (1984). The Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale: A measure of attitudes toward equality between the sexes. Sex Roles 10: 563–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohn, D. K. (1990). Domestic violence and pregnancy: Implications for practice. J. Nurse-Midwifery 35(2): 86–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brabeck, M. M., and Weisgerber, K. (1989). College students' perceptions of men and women choosing teaching and management: The effects of gender and sex-role egalitarianism. Sex Roles 21: 841–857.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brendtro, M., and Bowker, L. H. (1989). Battered women: How can nurses help? Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 10: 169–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, A. (1992). Violence against women: Relevance for medical practitioners. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 267(23), 3184–3189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. (1992). A review of nursing research on battering. In C. M. Sampselle (ed.), Violence Against Women: Nursing Research, Education, and Practice Issues, Hemisphere Publishing, New York, pp. 69–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cappell, C., and Heiner, R. B. (1990). The intergenerational transmission of family aggression. J. Fam. Viol. 5(2): 135–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. (1993). Nursing students' attitudes towards victims of domestic violence as predicted by selected individual and relationship variables. (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993). Diss. Abstr. Int. 54-04A: 1238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossman, R. K., Stith, S. M., and Bender, M. M. (1990). Sex role egalitarianism and marital violence. Sex Roles 22: 297–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, L. V., and Carlson, B. E. (1987). Observation of spouse abuse: What happens to the children? J. Interpers. Viol. 2(3): 278–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dibrell, L. L., and Yamamoto, K. (1986). In their own words: Concerns of young children. Child Psychiatry Hum. Devel. 19(1): 14–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobash, R. E., and Dobash, R. (1979). Violence Against Wives: A Case Against the Patriarchy. The Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dotterer, C. S. (1992, June 30). Doctors and domestic abuse cases. The Washington Post, p. 9.

  • Drake, V. K. (1982). Battered women: A health care problem in disguise. Image 14(2): 40–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drout, C. E. (1987). Attitudes toward battered women. Diss. Abstr. Int. 49(04): University Microfilms No. ADG88-08029.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenreich, B., and English, D. (1973). Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers. The Feminist Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkelor, D. (1983). Common features of family abuse. In Finkelor, D., Gelles, R. J., Hotaling, G. T., and Straus, M. S. (eds.), The Dark Side of Families, Sage, Beverly Hill, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, J. (1986). The relationship between sex-role attitudes and attitudes supporting marital violence. Sex Roles 14(5/6): 235–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentemann, K. (1984). Wife-beating: Attitudes of a nonclinical population. Victimology 9(1): 109–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, G. S., and Rosenberg, M. S. (1987). The child witness to family violence. In Sonkin, D. J. (ed.), Domestic Violence on Trial: Psychological and Legal Dimensions of Family Violence, Springer, New York, pp. 97–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grisso, J. A., Wishner, A. R., Schwarz, D. F., Weene, B. A., Holmes, J. H., and Sutton, R. L. (1991). A population-based study of injuries in inner city women. Am. J. Epidemiol. 134(1): 59–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, N. (1989). Why nurses stay: The relationship of personality to job and career satisfaction. (Doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989). Diss. Abstr. Int. 51-02B: 0663.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harlow, C. W. (1991). Female Victims of Violent Crime (NCJ-126826), Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, Rockville, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halsey, J. (1985). The moderately troubled nurse: A not so uncommon entity. Nurs. Admin. Quart. 9(2): 69–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilberman, E., and Munson, K. (1977–1978). Sixty battered women. Victimology 2(3/4): 460–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm, K., Cohen, F., Dudas, S., Medema, P. G., and Allen, B. L. (1989). The effect of personal pain experience on pain assessment. Image 21(2): 72–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hotaling, G., Finkelor, D., Kirkpatrick, J., and Straus, M. (eds.). (1988). Family Abuse and Its Consequences. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe, A. C., Herzberger, S., and Tennen, H. (1988). The influence of personal history of abuse and gender on clinicians' judgments of child abuse. J. Fam. Viol. 3(2): 105–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D., Wilson, S., and Zak, L. (1986). Similarities in behavioral and social maladjustments among child witnesses to family violence. J. Am. Orthopsychiatr. Assoc. 56(1): 142–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, L. (1988). How women define their experiences of violence. In Yllo, K., and Bograd, M. (eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 114–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. W., and King, L. A. (1983). Sex-role egalitarianism as a moderator variable in decision-making: Two validity studies. Ed. Psychological Measure. 43: 1199–1210.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A., and King, D. W. (1990). Abbreviated measures of sex-role egalitarian attitudes. Sex Roles 23: 659–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, M. C. (1988). Helping battered women: A study of the relationship between nurses' education and experience and their preferred models of helping. Diss. Abstr. Int. 49(08): University Microfilms No. ADG88-13247.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, M. C., and Ryan, J. (1989). Abused women: Dispelling myths and encouraging intervention. Nurse Pract. 14: 47–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristiansen, C. M., and Giulietti, R. (1990). Perceptions of wife abuse: Effects of gender, attitudes toward women, and just-world beliefs among college students. Psychol. Wom. Quart. 14(2): 177–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurz, D., and Stark, E. (1988). Not so-benign-neglect: The medical response to battering. In Yllo, K., and Bograd, M. (eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse, Sage, Newbury Park, pp. 249–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurz, D. (1987). Emergency department responses to battered women: Resistance to medicalization. Social Prob. 34: 69–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C. E., Siegel, J. M., and Lewis, M. A. (1984). Feeling bad: Exploring sources of distress among preadolescent children. Am. J. Publ. Health 74(2): 117–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, J. T., and Caldwell, R. A. (1987). Magnitude and directional effects of marital sex-role incongruence on marital adjustment. J. Fam. Issues 8: 97–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Limandri, B. J. (1987). The therapeutic relationship with abused women. J. Psychosocial Nurs. Ment. Health Serv. 25(2): 9–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loo, R. (1983). Nursing students: Personality dimensions and attitudes toward women. Psychological Rep. 52(2): 504–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margolin, G., Sibner, L. S., and Gleberman, L. (1988). Forms of family violence. In Van Hesselt, V. B., Morrison, R. L., Bellack, A. S., and Herson, M. (eds.), Handbook of Family Violence, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 89–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C. (1982). Burnout: The Cost of Caring, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirowsky, J., and Ross, C. E. (1990). Control or defense? Depression and the sense of control over good and bad outcomes. J. Health Social Behav. 31: 71–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mirowsky, J., and Ross, C. E. (1991). Eliminating defense and agreement bias from measures of the sense of control: A 2 × 2 index. Social Psychol. Quart. 54: 127–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosick-Feldis, M. (1990). Sex role attitudes and life expectations in a sample of college students. Unpublished doctoral dissertations, The California School of Professional Psychology.

  • Newbern, V. B. (1987). Caregiver perceptions of human abuse in health care settings. Hol. Nurs. Pract. 1(2): 64–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novello, A. (1992). From the Surgeon General, US Public Health Service. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 267(23): 3132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagelow, M. D. (1984). Family Violence, Praeger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rendon, D. (1987). Understanding social roles from a Horneyian perspective. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 48(3): 487–494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, K. M. (1985). Physicians' and nurses' attitudes toward women abuse. Diss. Abstr. Int. 46(01): University Microfilms No. ADG84-28895.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, K., and Saunders, D. G. (1986). Nurses' and physicians' attitudes about woman abuse: The effects of gender and professional role. Health Care Wom. Int. 7: 427–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld, L. B., and Jarrard, M. W. (1985). The effects of perceived sexism in female and male college professors on students' descriptions of classroom climate. Commun. Ed. 34: 205–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, C. E. (1991). Marriage and the sense of control. J. Marr. Fam. 53(4): 831–838.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, D. G., Lynch, A. B., Grayson, M., and Linz, D. (1987). The inventory of beliefs about wife-beating: The construction and initial validation of a measure of beliefs and attitudes. Viol. Vict. 2(1): 39–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shipley, S. B., and Sylvester, D. C. (1982). Professionals' attitudes toward violence in close relationships. J. Emerg. Med. 8(2): 88–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, E., and Flitcraft, A. (1988). Personal power and institutional victimization: Treating the dual trauma of woman battering. In Ochberg, F. M. (ed.), Post-Traumatic Therapy and Victims of Violence, Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp. 115–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stith, S. (1990). Police response to domestic violence: The influence of individuals and familial factors. Vict. Viol. 5(1): 37–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1976). Sexual inequality, cultural norms, and wife-beating. Victimology 1: 591–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactic (CT) Scales. J. Marr. Fam. 75–88.

  • Straus, M., Gelles, R., and Steinmetz, S. (1980). Behind Closed Doors, Anchor Books, Garden City, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (1986). Medical costs of intrafamily assault and homicide. Bull. NY Acad. Med. 62: 556.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugg, N. K., and Inui, T. (1992). Primary care physicians' response to domestic violence. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 267(23): 3157–3160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. E. (1984). The Battered Woman Syndrome. Springer, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warshaw, C. (1989). Limitations of the medical model in the care of battered women. Gend. Soc. 3: 506–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, K. M., Turner, J. G., Brown, K. C., Newman, K. D., Sirles, A. T., and Selleck, C. S. (1988). Occupational health hazards for nurses: Part II. Image. 20(3): 162–168.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Child Development, Virginia Tech, 2990 Telestar Ct., Falls Church, Virginia, 22042

    Jean U. Coleman & Sandra M. Stith

Authors
  1. Jean U. Coleman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sandra M. Stith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Coleman, J.U., Stith, S.M. Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Victims of Domestic Violence as Predicted by Selected Individual and Relationship Variables. Journal of Family Violence 12, 113–138 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022838226658

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022838226658

Search

Navigation