Keeping safe: teenagers' strategies for dealing with perinatal violence.
OBJECTIVE
To identify strategies adolescents use to cope with and keep safe from perinatal violence.


METHODS
Exploratory descriptive design incorporating qualitative content analysis. A semistructured interview guide was used to inquire about coping strategies.


METHODS
20 nonpregnant teenagers between the ages of 18 and 20 years who experienced violence before, during, or after a prior pregnancy, regardless of outcome, were recruited for this study from community advertising and two outpatient gynecologic clinics.


RESULTS
The teenagers described experiences of rape, stalking, and physical and sexual violence. They identified perpetrators as family members, nonintimate social acquaintances, and male and female intimate partners. Five themes were identified that described the teenagers' experiences with "Keeping Safe," including Losing Ground: Moving Backward; Minimizing Damage: Decreasing the Impact and the Severity of Violence; Keeping Away: Drawing Inward and Moving On; Getting Help: Reaching Out to Others; and Taking Charge: Being Proactive.


CONCLUSIONS
The teenagers were actively engaged in developing creative strategies to minimize stress and the severity of violence in their lives. They also incorporated maladaptive behaviors that further increased their jeopardy. Asking about the ways that teenagers deal with violence might assist health care workers to proactively minimize damage from ineffective coping mechanisms.
Renker
Paula Rinard
PR
The University of Akron, College of Nursing, OH 44325-3701, USA. prenker@uakron.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024802:Nurse's Role; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health