Battered Women's Coping Strategies and Psychological Distress: Differences by Immigration Status

Abstract

People are rarely passive, and battered women are no exception. This study investigated the types of coping strategies women of Japanese descent (both Japan-born and U.S.-born) chose and their perceived effectiveness in dealing with their partners' violence. Japan-born respondents were significantly less likely to use “active” strategies and perceived them to be less effective than did U.S.-born respondents. For the Japan-born, the more effective they perceived “active” strategies, the higher their psychological distress, whereas the more effective they perceived “passive” strategies, the lower their psychological distress. In contrast, for the U.S.-born, the higher the perceived effectiveness of “active” strategies, the lower their psychological distress, and the perceived effectiveness of “passive” strategies had little effect on their psychological distress. The complex relationship between individuals' country of birth, the choice and perceived effectiveness of coping strategies, and psychological distress calls for increased attention to the role of culture in studies of coping and domestic violence.