Background & Objectives: Home is not always a safe and secure place. For victims of violence, it is a place of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. The most common violence, known as domestic violence, against women is caused by their husbands. Women are not silent victims; instead, they make great efforts to escape violence. Failure to resolve conflict is one of the most critical factors that lead to violence against women. The pattern of conflict resolution tactics in couples increases the likelihood of engaging in and continuing a violent relationship, separation, and physical and psychological harm. One of the most important factors in human issues and response to social phenomena is culture. Domestic violence can be seen as a specific cultural phenomenon that varies depending on the culture and coping strategies that women victims choose. This study aims to identify the coping strategies of women victims of domestic violence living in Yazd City, Iran.
Methods: The research method is qualitative, using grounded theory. The study population consisted of all female victims of domestic violence living in Yazd. The sample included 37 female victims of domestic violence selected by a purposive, theoretical sampling method. The inclusion criteria were as follows: willing to interview, having complaints and dissatisfaction with their relationships and experience of domestic violence, and being married. The female victims of domestic violence referred to Bahman Psychiatric Center and Yazd Counseling Center, who met the inclusion criteria, were interviewed from February 2017 to July 2017. The method of data collection was semi–structured interviews. The interviews were conducted free of charge at Bahman Hospital in Yazd. The duration of each interview varied from 40 to 70 minutes, depending on the circumstances of the participants. During the interview, the conversations were recorded with the permission of the interviewees to examine the information in detail. To analyze the data, the objectivist approach of Strauss and Corbin was used. Four Guba and Lincoln trustworthiness indicators (credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability) were used to evaluate the reliability and validity of qualitative data. To achieve the credibility criterion, sufficient time was allocated for data collection and analysis, and more than one analyst was used to review the data. A sampling method with maximum diversity was used to increase the transferability of results. For dependability, the participants' opinions on the study's findings were examined, and they reported the accuracy of the findings. To confirm all coding processes, notes were taken, and data sources were made available.
Results: The qualitative data analysis leads to the extraction of 49 concepts, 17 subcategories, and 2 main categories (maladaptive and adaptive strategies) in four domains of individual, couple, family, and social. Getting rid of anonymity also emerged as a nuclear issue. The victims stated that in the face of husband violence, they used maladaptive strategies of avoidance, surrender (individual); emotional strategies of competition and war of attrition (couple); ineffective strategies of self and husband families (family); and ineffective social and legal strategies (social). Other strategies women used against domestic violence of their husbands were adaptive strategies. Adaptive strategies include realistic and compassionate strategies, participatory and consensual strategies, practical support strategies for family and spouse, rebuilding social relationships, and assisting with legal and community support resources. These strategies are corrective, positive, and in some cases, neutral. Although these strategies are very intertwined and boundaries are not very precise and change over time, they can be categorized into four domains of individual, couple, family, and social to better understand and prevent the disruption of the analysis structure.
Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the use of coping strategies in women affected by spousal violence varies according to their individual strengths, as well as family and social support. Understanding women's coping strategies against domestic violence provides a more comprehensive understanding of their needs.