Social Support Seeking Among Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Lived Experiences

Purpose Intimate partner violence against women is a major source of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide. In this study, 131 testimonies of female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are examined to study the factors associated with victims’ decision to seek social support (formal and informal). Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female victims of IPV in Spain. The IRaMuTeQ 7 software was used to analyze the discourses. A total of 10,845 words with 1183 different forms were examined. Results The analysis identified six clusters. Cluster 1 (18% of the total content) reflects the emotional component of aggression (fear of death). Cluster 2 (13.1%) describes psychological aggression (threatening), and Cluster 3 (17.2%) refers to the use of power within relationships (control). Cluster 6 (13.8%) includes different types of physical aggression (hitting); and Clusters 4 (21%) and 5 (16.9%) refer to formal (judging) and informal (friends) social support. Conclusions Results indicated a strong association between emotions (e.g., fear of dying) and physical and psychological aggression. Non-fatal strangulation represented an extreme form of physical violence that was used to control women increasing the risk of violence becoming lethal. Women tended to seek more support when the violence increased, and they perceived a greater risk to their children. There was an association between suffering violence, power, control, and seeking formal and informal social support. Results have significant implications to interrupt coercive control processes and to motivate help seeking behaviors in victims of IPV.