Citation

Rianon NJ, Shelton AJ. J. Immigr. Health 2003; 5(1): 37-44.

Affiliation

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

14512757

Abstract

Relocating from a homogeneous ethnic country into one that is heterogeneous may threaten one's self-identity, cause isolation, and trigger tension between a couple making the journey together. Most spousal abuse cannot be separated from the cultural, social, and economic contexts in which it occurs. An assessment of abuse in an immigrant community is impacted by stereotypes, cultural stigmas, and lack of knowledge or trust of available resources and services. A prevalence rate of 10% for spousal abuse was revealed in this study of 23 married female immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Houston, Texas. Using both a quantitative and qualitative design, women reported both mental/verbal and physical abuse, most frequently committed by the husband and in-laws. Commonalities exist with other immigrant groups, but characteristics unique to those from Bangladesh must be considered to effectively address abuse against women in this community.

Language: en