Evaluation of Psychological Symptoms in Terms of Childhood Traumas, Spirituality, and Conflict Tactics in Sheltered Battered Women.

Aim and objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate psychological symptoms in terms of childhood traumas, spirituality and conflict styles in women victims of violence staying in women's shelters.

Background: Violence against women is a major public health problem. Spiritual values and practices are especially important for women to cope with the negative effects of violence.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted in women's shelters in two provinces of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in Türkiye. The sample consisted of 92 women who had been subjected to violence and stayed in a women's shelter for at least 15 days. The data were collected using the "Brief Symptom Inventory", "Conflict Tactic Scale", "Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS)", "Childhood Abuse Experiences Scale Short Form", and "Introductory Information Form" created by the researcher, and the data obtained were evaluated in SPSS 22.0 program. Frequency, percentage, Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in the evaluation of the data. In all statistical analyses, p < 0.05 was accepted as the significance level.

Results: It was found that 64.1% of the women in the study had at least one psychiatric diagnosis and major depression was in the first place (32.2%). According to the mean scores of the Brief Symptom Inventory, the relationships between all subdimensions except the somatization subdimension and the mean scores of the SWBS were found to be inversely significant at p < 0.05 significance level. According to the mean scores of the SWBS, the relationships between all subdimensions except the transcendence subdimension and the mean scores of the Conflict Methods Scale were found to be inversely significant at the p < 0.05 level of significance.

Conclusion: According to the findings obtained from the study, it has been concluded that women should be encouraged to support them in order to be able to cope with the mental problems experienced in the psychiatric sense and to realize their spiritual beliefs and practices.