Emotional violence and maternal mental health: A qualitative study among women in northern Vietnam
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Emotional violence and maternal mental health : A qualitative study among women in northern Vietnam. / Tran, Tho Nhi; Nguyen, Thi Thuy Hanh; Gammeltoft, Tine.
In: B M C Women's Health, Vol. 18, No. 58, 2018, p. 1-10.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotional violence and maternal mental health
T2 - A qualitative study among women in northern Vietnam
AU - Tran, Tho Nhi
AU - Nguyen, Thi Thuy Hanh
AU - Gammeltoft, Tine
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - BackgroundWorldwide, intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a pressing and prevalent public health problem. Existing research has found close associations between IPV and perinatal mental health, yet little is known about women’s own perceptions of these associations. This study aimed to explore Vietnamese women’s experiences of emotional partner violence and their perceptions of the implications of such violence for their mental health.MethodsThe data were collected through in-depth interviews with 20 women living in Hanoi, Vietnam who had reported exposure to emotional partner violence and attained high depression scores in a prospective cohort study. Ten women were pregnant and ten had recently given birth. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe women described emotional partner violence as a major life stressor. Their accounts pointed to three particularly significant dimensions of emotional violence: being ignored by the husband; being denied support; and being exposed to controlling behaviours. These experiences affected the women’s sense of wellbeing profoundly, causing sadness and distress. The women’s accounts indicated that experiences of emotional violence were significantly shaped by dominant kinship arrangements: practices of patrilocal residence and principles of patrilineal descent tended to aggravate women’s vulnerabilities to partner violence.ConclusionsThis qualitative study from Vietnam documents close associations between emotional partner violence and perinatal distress, while also pointing to kinship arrangements as particularly significant structural contexts shaping women’s experiences of partner violence. The study findings suggest that effective policies and programs to decrease women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence must take into account the kinship arrangements that prevail in a given society.
AB - BackgroundWorldwide, intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a pressing and prevalent public health problem. Existing research has found close associations between IPV and perinatal mental health, yet little is known about women’s own perceptions of these associations. This study aimed to explore Vietnamese women’s experiences of emotional partner violence and their perceptions of the implications of such violence for their mental health.MethodsThe data were collected through in-depth interviews with 20 women living in Hanoi, Vietnam who had reported exposure to emotional partner violence and attained high depression scores in a prospective cohort study. Ten women were pregnant and ten had recently given birth. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe women described emotional partner violence as a major life stressor. Their accounts pointed to three particularly significant dimensions of emotional violence: being ignored by the husband; being denied support; and being exposed to controlling behaviours. These experiences affected the women’s sense of wellbeing profoundly, causing sadness and distress. The women’s accounts indicated that experiences of emotional violence were significantly shaped by dominant kinship arrangements: practices of patrilocal residence and principles of patrilineal descent tended to aggravate women’s vulnerabilities to partner violence.ConclusionsThis qualitative study from Vietnam documents close associations between emotional partner violence and perinatal distress, while also pointing to kinship arrangements as particularly significant structural contexts shaping women’s experiences of partner violence. The study findings suggest that effective policies and programs to decrease women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence must take into account the kinship arrangements that prevail in a given society.
U2 - 10.1186/s12905-018-0553-9
DO - 10.1186/s12905-018-0553-9
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29699557
VL - 18
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - BMC Women's Health
JF - BMC Women's Health
SN - 1472-6874
IS - 58
ER -
ID: 203835863