Abstract
Research on domestic violence against women has increased considerably over the past few decades. Most participants in such studies find the exercise worthwhile and of greater benefit than emotional cost; however, systematic examination of participant reaction to research on violence is considerably lacking, especially in the Middle East region. This study begins to fill this gap by examining women's reactions to domestic violence research in Jordan and whether a personal history of violence is associated with unfavorable experiences. This sequential exploratory mixed methods study included 17 focus group discussions (FGD) with women in Amman followed by a survey conducted in reproductive health clinics throughout the country (pilot n = 30; survey n = 517). Open coding was used to identify the theme related to participant reaction in the FGD data. This construct was further examined by the subsequent survey that included dichotomous questions inquiring whether the respondent thought the study questions were important and whether they were angry or felt resentment as a result of the survey. One open-ended question on the survey provided additional qualitative data on the theme that was combined with the FGD data. Themes identified in the qualitative data pertained to expressions of gratitude and comments on the survey's value. Findings of this study indicate that Jordanian women's responses to the research process are similar to women currently represented by the extant literature in that a vast majority of its participants felt that the study was important (95%) and it did not evoke anger or resentment (96%). Many even found the study to be useful to them personally or to society. Among those who had a negative emotional reaction, most still found the research to be important. This study's findings highlight the safety and potential benefits of ethically conducted violence research.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1655-1676 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Journal of Interpersonal Violence |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2012 |
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Keywords
- disclosure o.v.olence
- domestic violence and cultural contexts
- violence exposure
Cite this
A Mixed Methods Study of Participant Reaction to Domestic Violence Research in Jordan. / Clark, Cari J; Shahrouri, Manal; Halasa, Louma; Khalaf, Inaam; Spencer, Rachael; Everson-Rose, Susan.
In: Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 27, No. 9, 01.06.2012, p. 1655-1676.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - A Mixed Methods Study of Participant Reaction to Domestic Violence Research in Jordan
AU - Clark, Cari J
AU - Shahrouri, Manal
AU - Halasa, Louma
AU - Khalaf, Inaam
AU - Spencer, Rachael
AU - Everson-Rose, Susan
PY - 2012/6/1
Y1 - 2012/6/1
N2 - Research on domestic violence against women has increased considerably over the past few decades. Most participants in such studies find the exercise worthwhile and of greater benefit than emotional cost; however, systematic examination of participant reaction to research on violence is considerably lacking, especially in the Middle East region. This study begins to fill this gap by examining women's reactions to domestic violence research in Jordan and whether a personal history of violence is associated with unfavorable experiences. This sequential exploratory mixed methods study included 17 focus group discussions (FGD) with women in Amman followed by a survey conducted in reproductive health clinics throughout the country (pilot n = 30; survey n = 517). Open coding was used to identify the theme related to participant reaction in the FGD data. This construct was further examined by the subsequent survey that included dichotomous questions inquiring whether the respondent thought the study questions were important and whether they were angry or felt resentment as a result of the survey. One open-ended question on the survey provided additional qualitative data on the theme that was combined with the FGD data. Themes identified in the qualitative data pertained to expressions of gratitude and comments on the survey's value. Findings of this study indicate that Jordanian women's responses to the research process are similar to women currently represented by the extant literature in that a vast majority of its participants felt that the study was important (95%) and it did not evoke anger or resentment (96%). Many even found the study to be useful to them personally or to society. Among those who had a negative emotional reaction, most still found the research to be important. This study's findings highlight the safety and potential benefits of ethically conducted violence research.
AB - Research on domestic violence against women has increased considerably over the past few decades. Most participants in such studies find the exercise worthwhile and of greater benefit than emotional cost; however, systematic examination of participant reaction to research on violence is considerably lacking, especially in the Middle East region. This study begins to fill this gap by examining women's reactions to domestic violence research in Jordan and whether a personal history of violence is associated with unfavorable experiences. This sequential exploratory mixed methods study included 17 focus group discussions (FGD) with women in Amman followed by a survey conducted in reproductive health clinics throughout the country (pilot n = 30; survey n = 517). Open coding was used to identify the theme related to participant reaction in the FGD data. This construct was further examined by the subsequent survey that included dichotomous questions inquiring whether the respondent thought the study questions were important and whether they were angry or felt resentment as a result of the survey. One open-ended question on the survey provided additional qualitative data on the theme that was combined with the FGD data. Themes identified in the qualitative data pertained to expressions of gratitude and comments on the survey's value. Findings of this study indicate that Jordanian women's responses to the research process are similar to women currently represented by the extant literature in that a vast majority of its participants felt that the study was important (95%) and it did not evoke anger or resentment (96%). Many even found the study to be useful to them personally or to society. Among those who had a negative emotional reaction, most still found the research to be important. This study's findings highlight the safety and potential benefits of ethically conducted violence research.
KW - disclosure o.v.olence
KW - domestic violence and cultural contexts
KW - violence exposure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84861403661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84861403661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0886260511430383
DO - 10.1177/0886260511430383
M3 - Article
C2 - 22203623
AN - SCOPUS:84861403661
VL - 27
SP - 1655
EP - 1676
JO - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
JF - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
SN - 0886-2605
IS - 9
ER -