"I'm a Winner, Not a Victim": The Facilitating Factors of Post-Traumatic Growth among Women Who Have Suffered Intimate Partner Violence.

Hulda S Bryngeirsdottir,Sigridur Halldorsdottir

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031342

Hulda S Bryngeirsdottir, Sigridur Halldorsdottir

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031342

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Abstract

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a positive psychological change following trauma. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one such trauma. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore PTG from the perspective of women who have survived IPV as well as their perceptions of PTG. Twenty-two female IPV survivors aged 23–56 who reached PTG, according to the working definition used, were interviewed. The overriding theme of the study was “I’m a winner, not a victim”, which describes the essence of the women’s experience of PTG. They described their experience as a shift from being suffering victims of IPV to becoming winners who enjoyed PTG. They felt that their positive attitude and personal strengths had helped them to reach PTG as well as to face the fact that they had been in an abusive relationship, thus forgiving and believing in themselves and taking responsibility for their own health and well-being. They sought knowledge about violence, how to process it, and how to respond to triggers. They set boundaries for their perpetrators and were in as little contact with them as possible. They chose the company of positive, supportive, and constructive people and situations where they were not being controlled. It was concluded that, even though suffering IPV is a terrible experience that no one should endure, the participants’ experiences had resulted in PTG that they treasured.

Highlights

When confronting the entire range of debilitating effects of trauma, most survivors display a stunning capacity for survival and persistence [1,2]
The overriding theme of the study was “I’m a winner, not a victim”, which described the women’s essential experience of Post-traumatic growth (PTG). They described their experience as a shift from being suffering victims of Intimate partner violence (IPV) to becoming winners who enjoyed PTG. They felt that their positive attitude and personal strengths had helped them to reach PTG, as well as to face the fact that they had been in an abusive relationship, forgiving and believing in themselves and taking responsibility for their own health and well-being
The current study illustrates findings that provide a deeper understanding of the journey to PTG following IPV

Summary

Introduction

When confronting the entire range of debilitating effects of trauma, most survivors display a stunning capacity for survival and persistence [1,2]. Leaving an abusive relationship means great changes in life for a survivor of IPV. Some survivors shift from survival mode to starting a new life, going from being controlled to being in control of their own lives [3]. Research on IPV has mostly been focusing on the negative consequences of that experience. Even though that part of their experience should not be minimized, their strength, resilience and other positive resources of their recovery should be acknowledged and emphasized. Women can recover from experiencing IPV, but there is lack of information on how they recover and if their recovery is long-term [1,4]

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