Domestic Violence Within Asian-Indian Communities: Does Acculturation Affect The Rate of Reported Domestic Violence?

• Main Author: Sahni, Tarmeen K.
• Format: Others
• Published: NSUWorks 2009
• Subjects: acculturation; Asian; domestic violence; dowry; India; Indian; Psychology
• Online Access: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd/63; http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=cps_stuetd

The present study examined acculturation among Asian-Indians, residing in the United States and Canada, and explored: (1) whether acculturation can predict reporting of domestic violence, (2) how acculturation between Asian-Indians immigrants and US/Canadian born Asian-Indians is related to reporting domestic violence, and (3) how traditional practices such as arranged marriage and/or dowry influence the relationship between acculturation and domestic violence. Participants (N=100) were administered the Acculturation Scale for Asian Indians (ASAI; Parekh, 2000) and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus, 1996). Results demonstrated that acculturation was not found to be a good predictor of physical assault or psychological aggression and that acculturation was not significantly related to physical assault or psychological aggression. Significant results were found for birth status and acculturation. Traditional arranged marriage and dowry could not be addressed due to the low number of participants that could be classified into these variables. Therefore, a qualitative analysis was conducted. Factors influencing these results and limitations of the present study were offered.