Sociocultural Contexts Affecting Trauma Recovery and Posttraumatic Growth for Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

 Purpose

The aim of this research study was to explore the lived experiences of women survivors of intimate partner violence to gain insight into how sociocultural contexts affected the processes of trauma recovery and posttraumatic growth for them.

Methods

Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to design, conduct, and interpret data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Six participants who experienced intimate partner violence in past romantic or marital relationships completed initial and follow-up interviews.

Results

Through in-depth data analysis and interpretation, five major themes related to sociocultural contexts that affected survivors emerged: (a) family, (b) friends, (c) schools and educational institutions, (d) community and neighborhood, and (e) law enforcement and judiciary agencies.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that supportive, unsupportive, or mixed responses from any of the listed sociocultural contexts can impact survivors’ processes of recovery and posttraumatic growth. Implications of findings and directions for future research are discussed.