Lifetime victimization: identifying frequency and emotional (dis)Adjustment among portuguese and immigrant women

Abstract

The authors sought to identify the lifetime trajectories of multiple victimized women, the emotional adjustment and resilience. They used a convenience sample of 120 women (35 Portuguese natives and 85 immigrants). The results documented the high frequency of different types of victimization (e.g., psychological, physical, discrimination, stalking) experienced by native and immigrant women, especially in adulthood, with few significant differences between the two groups. In addition to having been victims in adulthood, native women reported victimization in at least two phases of life, childhood and adolescence, with high rates of revictimization throughout life. The immigrants presented different trajectories of victimization, with 41% reported being a victim for the first time in adulthood in the host country. The interaction of ethnicity, unemployment, and educational level represents greater vulnerability to victimization. Women that had complex and multiple patterns of victimization (being victim of more types of violence during life) presented worse psychological maladjustment. However, the total resilience mediates the relationship between the multiple victimization experience and the symptomatology. The empirical, professional, and political implications of the results are discussed.