title: Help-seeking in a national sample of victimized Latino women: the influence of victimization types.
abstract: The current study aimed to examine formal and informal help-seeking responses to interpersonal victimization among a national sample of Latino women. In addition, an examination of help-seeking by victimization type was undertaken. Data came from the Sexual Assault Among Latinas (SALAS) study that obtained help-seeking rates among a victimized subsample of Latino women (n = 714; 35.7% of a national sample). Results show a majority (76.6%) of the victimized participants engaged in some form of help-seeking with informal resources (68.9%) more often used than formal (32.5%). Medical attention was the type of formal help-seeking sought most often among victimized women who were injured (34.7%), and parents were the most common source of informal help-seeking (26.6%). However, logistic regression analyses show that help-seeking responses were significantly affected by type of victimization. Latino women who experienced childhood victimization were significantly less likely to engage in formal and informal help-seeking. Latino women who experienced stalking were significantly less likely to engage in formal help-seeking. Victimization with a weapon was significantly related to increased odds of formal help-seeking. Thus, women respond to violence in a way that is shaped by the dynamics of the victimization experience. Practice implications include the need to increase knowledge and availability of formal help-seeking venues.
authors.affiliation: Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, PA 17057, USA. sabina@psu.edu
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabina
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Schally
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019548:Crime Victims; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States