Psychosocial Determinants of Help-Seeking for Intimate Partner Violence: A Study among Married Persons in Accra.

Abstract

Using the research survey method, the study sought to assess how psychosocial determinants like religion, cultural identity and gender role ideology affected the help seeking behaviour of married persons in the event of them experiencing intimate partner violence, as well as the relationship between age, gender, education and help seeking. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from two hundred and five participants comprising 100 males and 105 females. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient, Two-way ANOVA and the Independent T-test were used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that culture, gender role belief ideology, religion, education, age and gender did not affect the help-seeking behaviour of participants. However, the interaction effect of age and gender was found to be significant. Also, it was found that individuals with low education were rather more likely to seek help than those with high education. The findings of this study becomes important for helpers and clients or persons who suffer intimate partner violence because it provides some knowledge about the factors that relate to help seeking like age, gender and education. This knowledge will lay the foundation, especially in Ghana, for helpers to provide client-centered and gender-specific help to clients. This finding will also benefit all professionals who in diverse ways provide some kind of help to humanity including the police, health professionals, teachers, social workers, religious and traditional leaders and marriage counselors.