Faith in the Future: Posttraumatic Growth Through Evangelical Christianity for Immigrant Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Med Anthropol. 2021 Oct;40(7):626-638. doi: 10.1080/01459740.2020.1860961. Epub 2021 Feb 5.

Abstract

For immigrants from Latin America experiencing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the United States, complex systems, exclusionary policies, and xenophobia create additional layers of suffering. However, based on ethnographic research among immigrant survivors, I show how the combination of secular IPV services with evangelical Christian practices can lead to positive personal growth in the wake of such hardship - a form of personal development that Richard Tedeschi and colleagues refer to as "posttraumatic growth." By demonstrating these concrete effects of religion on survivor experiences, I highlight the importance of IPV services that are attentive to the potentialities of faith.

Keywords: Christianity; Cristianismo; Intimate Partner Violence; Latin America; Latinoamérica; Violencia de pareja; immigration; inmigración; mental health; religion; religión; salud mental.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anthropology, Medical
  • Christianity
  • Emigrants and Immigrants*
  • Humans
  • Intimate Partner Violence*
  • Posttraumatic Growth, Psychological*
  • Survivors
  • United States