“It ain’t a fight unless you hit me”: Perceptions of intimate partner violence in a sample of African American college women

Abstract

Although some research has suggested that, generally, African American college-aged women are at a relatively higher risk for experiencing interpersonal violence (IPV) than college-aged women from other ethnic groups, little research has examined the experience of IPV, as opposed to the prevalence, specifically among African American college students. A lack of understanding among practitioners and researchers of how violence is conceptualized among African American college-aged women may lead to a deficit in the knowledge needed to develop and implement effective prevention and intervention strategies. Through the qualitative exploration of responses to an open-ended questionnaire asking how participants resolve conflict in their relationships and their perceptions of their and their partners' actions, the current paper expands the understanding of interpersonal violence in a sample of African American college women. The current paper also provides implications for the development of culturally-relevant prevention and intervention strategies and future research within this population.