The Courage to Leave

Interviews were conducted with eight Spanish-speaking women from Latin America living in Toronto. All eight women were physically and psychologically abused by their partners in the past. Using a qualitative grounded-theoretical method of analysis, a hierarchical structure of categories was developed. This methodology generated the core category of Immobilization which, in turn, was characterized by four distinct phases: Denial, Socialization, Ignorance, and Social Isolation. These intra-psychic and social factors all converge, developmentally, to provide a new moral domain for these women. Two competing moral premises are then engaged: the moral mandate that “good women provide a strong family base for their children,” and the conflicting mandate that “people should not harm those they love.” The “Turning Point” is a point in this convergence when the women begin to privilege the second moral premise: namely, that self-respect and self-care are the moral right of every women. During this developmental process, a key point of awareness is the availability of social support systems

Denial · Mandate · Political science · Premise · Child Abuse and Trauma · Child Welfare and Adoption · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice

• Grounded Theory Methodology as Methodical Hermeneutics

  Open Access•David L Rennie•Theory & Psychology•2000

  Add to list

• Grounded Theory Methodology

  Open Access•David L Rennie•Theory & Psychology•1998

  Add to list

• Exploring Relationship Functioning in Premarital Caucasian and Latino/a Couples

  José Rubén Parra-Cardona, Dean Busby et al.•Journal of Comparative Family…•2006

  Add to list