Research Spotlight: Kenneth Sewell

"Understanding Relational Violence from the Perspective of Battered Wives in Mexico"

CPN member Professor Ken Sewell, of the University of North Texas, has been utilizing constructivist theory and techniques in the study of post-traumatic stress for a number of years.  The following represents a recent research program he has undertaken…

 
Domestic violence has recently been recognized as broadly problematic in Mexico.  As an example of this growing interest, the number of shelters for battered women has gone from one in all of Mexico to 29 in the past 12 years. 

Given this recent surge of interest and attention, it is necessary for those trying to help battered women to have access to up-to-date knowledge about the effects of domestic violence and effective ways to provide assistance to such women.  However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that battering (both its occurrence and its amelioration) must be understood and treated in culturally relevant ways. 

This presents a problem, given that the vast majority of the existing treatment and research literature has been generated in Anglo cultural settings, such as the United States.  Thus, it is imperative that researchers and service providers begin to cooperate in studying the problem of domestic violence in Mexico, in order to provide guidance to the refinement of interventions designed to decrease the occurrence and impacts of partner violence.

Despite the difficulties experienced by women who experience partner violence, women frequently remain in violent relationships for many years (Benton, 1986).  It has been theorized that terminating a violent relationship may require progression through a number of phases/stages (Landenberger, 1989; Ulrich, 1991), with important parallels to the phases/stages of changing other difficult patterns (smoking, substance abuse, etc.).  Drawing upon such “stages of change” theories, Prochaska, DiClemente, and Norcross (1991) convincingly demonstrate that effective interventions must be targeted to the particular phase of change-readiness in which a client presents.

Preliminary studies suggest that the stages of change conceptualization is applicable to domestic violence (Brown, 1997; Weisz, 2003; Williams, 2000).  Remaining unexplored is how the stages of change interact with culturally-based notions of marriage, love, anger, and violence in terms of influencing whether and how a woman ends or initiates change in a violent partner relationship. 

Given the relevance of such cultural phenomena in Mexico (Finkler, 1997; Oropesa, 1997), and given the newly-recognized prevalence of partner violence in Mexico (United Nations, 1989), Mexico appears to be an ideal context for the rapid development of these important research concepts.

The sample will consist of approximately 100 women who seek attention in shelters for battered women in Mexico and in family attention centers that address relational violence.  These women will be recruited and assessed via collaboration with Dr. Mario Zumaya and Alicia Leal Puerta of Alternativas Pacíficas, A.C. in Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Dr. Zumaya is a psychiatrist who oversees psychological treatment in the shelter and “family attention” center operated by Alternativas Pacíficas, A.C.  Ms. Puerta is the Executive Director of Alternativas Pacíficas, A.C. which operates the Monterey facilities, and she is also the Executive Director of the Mexican National Shelters Network which coordinates all 29 domestic violence shelters throughout Mexico.

A central research question of this study asks: How do battered women conceptualize the place of violence in marriage (societally, as well as in her own particular relationship)?  There are four hypotheses that follow on this question.

Hypothesis a: Love and affection perceived by battered women as being provided to them by their friends and family will be negatively related to physical and psychological symptoms of distress.

Hypothesis b: Love and affection perceived by battered women as being provided to them by their husbands will be positively related to physical symptoms of distress.

Hypothesis c: Love and affection perceived by battered women as being provided to them by their husbands will be negatively related to the intention to demand/pursue change in the abusive relationship.

Hypothesis d: Love and affection perceived by battered women as being provided to them by their shelter service provider will be positively related to the intention to the intention to demand/pursue change in the abusive relationship.

A second central question to the study asks: How do battered women perceive "love" (caring, nurturance) to be communicated/manifest (a) in marriage, (b) with children, family, and friends, and (c) in the professional “attencion” relationship? 

Four hypotheses follow from this question.

Hypothesis a: Love and affection perceived by battered women as being provided to them by their friends and family will be negatively related to physical and psychological symptoms of distress.

Hypothesis b: Love and affection percieved by battered women as being provided to them by their husbands will be positively related to physical symptoms of distress.

Hypothesis c: Love and affection percieved by battered women as being provided to them by their husbands will be negatively related to the intention to demand/pursue change in the abusive relationship.

Hypothesis d: Love and affection percieved by battered women as being provided to them by their shelter service provider will be positively related to the intention to demand/pursue change in the abusive relationship.

One of the key independent variables of the study includes:  Perception of "love" (caring, nurturance) communicated/manifest (a) in marriage, (b) with children, family, and friends, and (c) in the professional “attencion” relationship; to be assessed by a set of questions constructed specifically for this study in the form of a small repertory grid.

Key dependent variables include Intention to demand/pursue change in the abusive relationship, Symptoms of psychological/emotional distress, and Symptoms of physical distress

 
Ken has an extensive background in researching and developing interventions for post-trauma situations and reactions.  This current research represents an extension of his work into the specific area of domestic violence as a traumatic stressor.  Previous published research of his includes the following:

Sewell, K. W. (1996).  Constructional risk factors for a post-traumatic stress response following a mass murder.  Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 9, 97-107.

Sewell, K. W. (1997).  Posttraumatic stress: Towards a constructivist model of psychotherapy.  In R.A. Neimeyer & G.J. Neimeyer (Eds), Advances in personal construct psychology: Volume IV (pp. 207-235).  Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Sewell, K. W. (2003).  An Approach to Post-Traumatic Stress.  In F. Fransella (Ed.), Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology (223-231).  London: Wiley.

Sewell, K. W. (in press).  Psychotherapy with traumatized clients: A constructivist framework for healing.  In D. Winter & L. Viney (Eds.), Advances in Personal Construct Psychotherapy.

Sewell, K. W., Cromwell, R. L., Farrell-Higgins, J., Palmer, R., Ohlde, C., & Patterson, T. W. (1996).  Hierarchical elaboration in the conceptual structure of Vietnam combat veterans.  Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 9, 79-96.

Sewell, K. W. & Gamino, L. A. (2004).  Reconstructing Sociality After Bereavement.  In J. D. Raskin & S. K. Bridges (Eds.), Studies in meaning 2: Bridging the personal and social in constructivist psychology (pp. 221-238). New York: Pace University Press.

Sewell, K. W. & Williams, A. M. (2001).  Construing stress: A constructivist therapeutic approach to posttraumatic stress reactions.  In R.A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss (pp. 293-310).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Sewell, K. W. & Williams, A. M. (2002).  Broken narratives: Trauma, metaconstructive gaps, and the audience of psychotherapy.  Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 15, 205-218.

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Kenneth Sewell

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