Self-esteem in the context of intimate partner violence: A concept analysis.

Abstract

To explore the meaning of self-esteem in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is a preventable public health issue. The dynamic of IPV diminishes women's self-esteem. Defining self-esteem will guide the development of IPV interventions in healthcare settings. Walker and Avant's eight-step approach was used. The search was conducted from Oxford Dictionary of English online, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, PubMed, Women's Studies International, and Google Scholar. No limits on the year of publication were applied. Defining attributes of self-esteem are self-concept, self-affirmation, and self-respect. Antecedents of self-esteem are exposure to IPV and victim-blaming attitudes by healthcare professionals. Consequences include depression, substance abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Empirical referents include self-worth, self-competence, self-blame, self-evaluation, self-confidence, and self-determination. Current literature is limited in its definition of self-esteem in the context of IPV. Women experiencing IPV with low self-esteem might not seek help for IPV from nurses. Nurses could develop culturally appropriate IPV screening tools that assess the changes in self-esteem among women from different sociodemographic and cultural backgrounds. The defining attributes could contribute to developing comprehensive IPV screening tools in healthcare settings.