TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of Domestic Violence Victimization Among North Korean Refugee Women in South Korea
AU - Um, Mee Young
AU - Kim, Hee Jin
AU - Palinkas, Lawrence A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Dr. Hee Jin Kim was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the South Korean Government (NRF-2013S1A3A2042790).
Funding Information:
social policy and health and director of the Behavior, Health and Society Research Cluster in the School of Social Work at USC. He also holds secondary appointments as professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Preventive Medicine at USC. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of California, San Diego. His primary areas of expertise are mental health services research and behavioral health and prevention science. Among his scholarly achievements are the Antarctic Service Medal from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Navy, deputy chief officer of the Life Sciences Standing Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, chair of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s External Advisory Council, and membership on committees of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine. He is an elected fellow of the American Anthropological Association and Society for Applied Anthropology and the author of more than 320 publications.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2018/7/1
Y1 - 2018/7/1
N2 - Although many North Korean (NK) refugee women are victims of domestic violence (DV) in North Korea, face sexual exploitation during migration, and remain at risk of DV while adapting to life in South Korea, there is no empirical evidence about risk factors for DV in this population. To fill this gap, this study examined whether gender role beliefs, child abuse history, and sociocultural adaptation were associated with past-year physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse, and whether they were associated with multiple forms of abuse. We also explored whether these associations were similar or different across different types of DV among NK refugee women. A sample of 180 ever-married NK refugee women in South Korea from the 2010 National Survey on Family Violence was used for analysis. Physical abuse was associated with more traditional gender role beliefs; emotional abuse and multiple forms of abuse were associated with lower levels of sociocultural adaptation; and sexual and economic abuse were associated with an increased likelihood of childhood abuse and poor sociocultural adaptation. Our study findings underscore the importance of assisting NK refugee women to be better adapted to the new culture in a practical way, because better sociocultural adaptation might protect them from experiencing various types of abuse. At the same time, findings of this study highlight the need for empowering NK refugee women who report physical abuse by educating their rights and altering their traditional beliefs of gender roles, and screening of childhood abuse and providing culturally sensitive psychotherapy to those who report sexual or economic abuse. Moreover, we suggest future studies to examine correlates of different forms of abuse separately because they can inform culturally tailored interventions for abused NK refugee women. To prevent further victimization, educational programs should be provided to NK refugee women at an early stage of resettlement in South Korea.
AB - Although many North Korean (NK) refugee women are victims of domestic violence (DV) in North Korea, face sexual exploitation during migration, and remain at risk of DV while adapting to life in South Korea, there is no empirical evidence about risk factors for DV in this population. To fill this gap, this study examined whether gender role beliefs, child abuse history, and sociocultural adaptation were associated with past-year physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse, and whether they were associated with multiple forms of abuse. We also explored whether these associations were similar or different across different types of DV among NK refugee women. A sample of 180 ever-married NK refugee women in South Korea from the 2010 National Survey on Family Violence was used for analysis. Physical abuse was associated with more traditional gender role beliefs; emotional abuse and multiple forms of abuse were associated with lower levels of sociocultural adaptation; and sexual and economic abuse were associated with an increased likelihood of childhood abuse and poor sociocultural adaptation. Our study findings underscore the importance of assisting NK refugee women to be better adapted to the new culture in a practical way, because better sociocultural adaptation might protect them from experiencing various types of abuse. At the same time, findings of this study highlight the need for empowering NK refugee women who report physical abuse by educating their rights and altering their traditional beliefs of gender roles, and screening of childhood abuse and providing culturally sensitive psychotherapy to those who report sexual or economic abuse. Moreover, we suggest future studies to examine correlates of different forms of abuse separately because they can inform culturally tailored interventions for abused NK refugee women. To prevent further victimization, educational programs should be provided to NK refugee women at an early stage of resettlement in South Korea.
KW - North Korean refugee women
KW - child abuse history
KW - domestic violence
KW - gender role beliefs
KW - sociocultural adaptation
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U2 - 10.1177/0886260515622297
DO - 10.1177/0886260515622297
M3 - Article
C2 - 26739240
AN - SCOPUS:85047915791
SN - 0886-2605
VL - 33
SP - 2037
EP - 2058
JO - Journal of interpersonal violence
JF - Journal of interpersonal violence
IS - 13
ER -