Religious Latina's Definitions of Domestic Violence and Perceived Acceptability of Helping Resources

Domestic violence is a global phenomenon, but must be understood as a cultural one, whose definition, perpetration, prevention, treatment and eradication are impacted by multiple factors. This study sampled an understudied group of 126 Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) women who are both religious and Hispanic, proposing that both religious and ethnic cultural factors would predict definitions of violence and perceived acceptability of religious and secular sources of help. The current study tested cultural variables identified in the literature, namely attendance at church services, religious conservatism, Hispanic and American acculturation and the gender role beliefs of machismo and caballerismo as potential influences on both the definition of violence and acceptability of help-seeking resources. A diverse pattern of findings was supported, with only machismo predicting definitions of violence, while acceptability of church and secular resources were predicted by caballerismo, attendance at church sponsored activities, religious liberality and American acculturation. In a subsample of survivors, no differences were found in ratings of helpfulness of clergy, contradicting extant work. The study both expands and extends the current literature to an understudied population and highlights the importance to adopting denomination and ethnic group specificity in future research. In addition, it suggests the importance of developing more refined ways of assessing religious involvement. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are also provided.