Cultural Beliefs, Intimate Partner Violence, and Mental Health Functioning Among Vietnamese Women

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women occurs in all countries, with wide-ranging negative effects, including on mental health. However, IPV rates vary widely across countries, suggesting cultural factors may play a role in IPV. The primary purpose of the present study was to assess relations among IPV, mental health symptoms, and cultural beliefs among Vietnamese women, focusing on moderator effects of cultural beliefs on relations between IPV and mental health. IPV, anxious and depressive mental health symptoms, and culturally related beliefs about IPV were cross-sectionally assessed in 105 married adult Vietnamese women randomly selected from public population registries in five provinces. IPV was significantly correlated with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Relations were moderated by wives’ culturally related beliefs about abuse (e.g., relations between IPV and mental health symptoms were smaller for women who believed that nothing could be done about abuse). Findings suggest that when attempting to prevent or treat effects of IPV, it will be important to consider that certain beliefs about IPV generally viewed as maladaptive (e.g., nothing can be done about abuse) may have adaptive effects, at least in the short-term, on relations between IPV and mental health functioning.