The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

5086.0: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 12:55 PM

Abstract #39782

Challenging Traditional Christian Paradigms of Marriage to Prevent Domestic Violence; A Videography

Julie McCourt, JD, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Nursing, 65 Bergen Street, Suite 1135, Newark, NJ 07107-3001, 973-972-6668, mccourju@umdnj.edu and Cessie Alfonso, LCSW, RN, Alfonso Associates, 32 Sycamore Street, Albany, NY 12208.

Challenging Traditional Christian Paradigms of Marriage to Prevent Domestic Violence; A Videography is a qualitative study of African-American Baptist Pastors and Ministers from the greater Newark, NJ area.  The goal of the study is to qualitatively discern the impact of domestic violence training on a Christian community, according to those who conduct the interventions.  After receiving 40 hours of both essential fundamental Domestic Violence information and Christian scholarship regarding the marriage relationship, misconceptions about Christian marriage and Christian views regarding domestic violence, the Pastors and Ministers are eligible to participate in a videotaped interview where impressions of the training, personal awareness of domestic violence facts and personal changes in pastoral counseling of marital partners and domestic violence victims were discussed.  In addition, changes in approach to scriptural texts as well as theological texts which promote the traditional submission of wives to their husbands, placements of the husbands at the head of the family and sanction or refute non-Christian, violent behavior between spouses were discussed during the interview to better understand how pastors and ministers use their positions as leaders and preachers in the promote of domestic violence prevention, both to individual audiences and to the congregation as a whole.  Finally, personal descriptions of interaction with victims known to the pastors and ministers prior to the training and after the training were compared to have an in-depth, qualitative understanding to the learning process for these leaders as well as personally described knowledge and skill retention.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Faith Community

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: UMDNJ School of Nursing, grant funded program Hearts of Compassion, DV Prevention Training for Religious Leadership; The New Hope Baptist Church, The Christian Love Church, The Welcome Baptist Church; The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA