TY - JOUR PY - 2016// TI - Fractured identity in the context of intimate partner violence: barriers to and opportunities for seeking help in health settings JO - Violence against women A1 - O'Doherty, Lorna Jane A1 - Taft, Angela A1 - McNair, Ruth A1 - Hegarty, Kelsey SP - 225 EP - 248 VL - 22 IS - 2 N2 - Intimate partner violence has profound effects on women's identities. However, detailed examination of how abuse affects identity is lacking. We interviewed 14 diverse women (Australia), applying social identity theory to analyze their experiences of identity and help-seeking in health settings. The destabilizing effect of violence on social identities was strongly supported. Women concealed abuse to preserve a public identity. However, when the violence threatened the most integrated identities, women unveiled an abuse identity, receiving mixed responses from health providers. A healing context where a woman can display an abuse identity safely is crucial to enable her to rebuild an integrated self-concept.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1077-8012 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077801215601248 ID - ref1 ER -