Pregnant Women’s Perceptions of Abuse

Objective To determine whether pregnant women's perceptions of abuse severity and danger, and their ability to control the abuse, are significantly correlated with the acts of abuse they experience, and to find out whether relationships exist among women's appraisals of abuse severity, danger, and their perceived ability to stop the abuse. Design A correlational design was used to compare the abusive acts experienced by the women and their perceptions of that abuse. Setting Nine prenatal clinics in urban areas of the northeastern United States. Participants: Sixty-one ethnically diverse, pregnant abused women were interviewed. Main Outcome Measure: Pearson's product-moment correlations were used to examine relationships between abusive experiences and women's perceptions of abuse. Results Women's perceptions of abuse severity were modestly correlated with threatened (r = .25) and actual violence (r = .36). Perceptions of abuse severity and danger were correlated (r = .41). Conclusions Women's beliefs about abuse severity, danger, and their ability to control abuse cannot be fully comprehended by exploring the discrete acts they experience. Further research is needed to identify additional factors that influence those beliefs. JOGNN , 30 , 283–290; 2001.