Hope for success and styles of coping with stressful situations of women aged 25–35 experiencing domestic violence in marriage

Abstract

Introduction: The case of violence against women is an up-to-date topic much publicized in the society. Police data confirm that the number of home interventions increases by the year, with women as the main group of victims of violent behaviour. A number of questions, therefore, arise, inter alia: how do women cope with the difficulties they face, and how do they evaluate their chances for the improvement of their life situation? The aim of the study is to show the styles of coping with stressful situations and the level of hope for the success of women experiencing violence in their marriage. Material and methods: The study covered two groups of women aged 25–35. The research tool was Hope for Success Questionnaire and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. The results were subject to statistical analysis. Results: Women experiencing violence in marriage received significantly lower scores on the task-oriented style scale. The same group of women is characterised by significantly higher results obtained on the emotion-oriented style scale. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the avoidance-oriented style scale. The analysis of the results obtained in the Hope for Success Questionnaire shows that women abused by their husbands do not exhibit much hope for success. Conclusions: Women experiencing violence in marriage apply the emotion-oriented style, whereas women free from violence – the task-oriented style. Both groups surveyed apply the avoidance-oriented style in the same degree. Women abused by their husbands do not achieve high results as far as hope for success is concerned