The likelihood of Latino women to seek help in response to interpersonal victimization: An examination of individual, interpersonal and sociocultural influences

Help-seeking is a process that is influenced by individual, interpersonal, and sociocultural factors. The current study examined these influences on the likelihood of seeking help (police, pressing charges, medical services, social services, and informal help) for interpersonal violence among a national sample of Latino women. Women living in high-density Latino neighborhoods in the USA were interviewed by phone in their preferred language. Women reporting being, on average, between "somewhat likely" and "very likely" to seek help should they experience interpersonal victimization. Sequential linear regression results indicated that individual (age, depression), interpersonal (having children, past victimization), and sociocultural factors (immigrant status, acculturation) were associated with the self-reported likelihood of seeking help for interpersonal violence. Having children was consistently related to a greater likelihood to seek all forms of help. Overall, women appear to respond to violence in ways that reflects their ecological context. Help-seeking is best understood within a multi-layered and dynamic context.