Coping With and Surviving Domestic Violence Among African American Women in a Rural Community

Domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner violence is a widespread public health problem in the United States that knows no boundaries. Previous researchers have found that in the United States, African American women experience more severe effects from DV than women in other ethnic groups. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to identify the coping strategies used by African American women who have survived DV living in rural areas where there are limited professional resources. Premises from the superwoman schema and adult resilience theory guided this research. Semistructured audio-recorded interviews, conducted via Zoom and face-to-face, were used to collect data from eight African American women survivors ages 25–69 located in a rural community in southwest Virginia. After data were collected, Colaizzi’s 7-step method, thematic analysis, and manual handcoding were employed to analyze the data. The key findings from this study revealed that talking about it, working out, praying, and attending church were the foremost coping methods. Family and friends, God, and religion were the top sources aiding in developing the coping techniques. Key themes were self-perception, barriers and conditions, types of coping, motivations, and supports and resources. This study has potential implications for positive social change by initiating awareness among individuals, community, civic and church leaders, clinicians, and mental health professionals of the coping methods used by African American women in rural areas and help create culturally competent resources. Future programs and educational opportunities could be established, and researchers may use these study results as a foundation to expand this work and integrate researcher recommendations.