Managing secrecy and disclosure of domestic violence in affluent communities: a grounded theory ethnography

Haselschwerdt, Megan

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/45362 Copy

Description

Title

Managing secrecy and disclosure of domestic violence in affluent communities: a grounded theory ethnography

Author(s)

Haselschwerdt, Megan

Issue Date

2013-06-12

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Hardesty, Jennifer L.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Hardesty, Jennifer L.

Committee Member(s)

• Caughlin, John P.
• Jarrett, Robin L.
• Oswald, Ramona F.

Department of Study

Human & Community Development

Discipline

Human & Community Development

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Domestic Violence
• Affluent Families
• Secrecy
• Social Support
• Grounded Theory
• Ethnography
• Feminism

Abstract

Although it is widely acknowledged that domestic violence (DV) cuts across all groups of women, there is scant research on affluent women’s experiences with DV. Using grounded theory and ethnographic approaches, the present study examined how affluent mothers managed secrecy and disclosure of DV in the context of their community. Data consisted of neighborhood observations, in-depth interviews with abused mothers and social service providers, and a focus group interview with high school students, all of which took place in one affluent community in the Midwest. Abusive husbands’ degree of power and status in the community was identified as the central category that shaped how abused mothers managed secrecy and disclosure during and after their marriage. Namely, husbands’ degree of power and status appeared to relate to mothers’ internalization of the culture of affluence, their interactions with informal and formal networks, and how those networks responded to mothers’ disclosures. Informed by community social organization, communication privacy management, and postmodern feminist theories, the resulting grounded theory demonstrates that this process operates within gendered and class-ordered power dynamics, is rife with negotiations to conceal and reveal DV that are nonlinear and simultaneously occurring, and is continuously influenced by informal and formal support networks that act to uphold pervasive cultural norms about community, families, and DV. Results have implications for professional training and education around DV services and advocacy, theory and research on secrecy and disclosure as a process, and efforts to build community capacity and a sense of community as they relate to community responses to DV.

Graduation Semester

2013-05

Permalink

• http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2101
• http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45362

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2013 Megan L. Haselschwerdt

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