Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti
Natural disasters have inherently social dimensions because they exacerbate preexisting inequalities and disrupt social norms and institutions. Despite a growing interest in the sociological aspects of disasters, few studies have quantitatively explored how disasters alter intrahousehold family dyna...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Society for Sociological Science
2016-03-01
|
| Series: | Sociological Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-9-167/ |
| _version_ | 1818278505185542144 |
|---|---|
| author | Abigail Weitzman Julia Andrea Behrman |
| author_facet | Abigail Weitzman Julia Andrea Behrman |
| author_sort | Abigail Weitzman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Natural disasters have inherently social dimensions because they exacerbate preexisting inequalities and disrupt social norms and institutions. Despite a growing interest in the sociological aspects of disasters, few studies have quantitatively explored how disasters alter intrahousehold family dynamics. In this article, we develop and test a conceptual framework that explicates how natural disasters affect an important component of family life: intimate partner violence (IPV). We combine two waves of geocoded Demographic and Health Surveys data, collected before and after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, with spatial data on variation in the earthquake’s destruction. Our findings indicate that exposure to earthquake devastation increased the probability of both physical and sexual IPV one to two years following the disaster. These increases were accompanied by substantial changes in family functioning, the household economy, and women’s access to their social networks. Select household-level experiences during and after the earthquake, such as displacement, were also positively associated with IPV. These findings provide new insights into the multidimensional effects of disasters on family life and have important theoretical and policy implications that extend beyond the particular case of Haiti. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:18:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0090297ec9143b0b66e867af2faf5a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2330-6696 2330-6696 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:18:30Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | Society for Sociological Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociological Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0090297ec9143b0b66e867af2faf5a72022-12-22T00:08:23ZengSociety for Sociological ScienceSociological Science2330-66962330-66962016-03-013916718910.15195/v3.a93287Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in HaitiAbigail Weitzman0Julia Andrea Behrman1 University of Michigan New York University Natural disasters have inherently social dimensions because they exacerbate preexisting inequalities and disrupt social norms and institutions. Despite a growing interest in the sociological aspects of disasters, few studies have quantitatively explored how disasters alter intrahousehold family dynamics. In this article, we develop and test a conceptual framework that explicates how natural disasters affect an important component of family life: intimate partner violence (IPV). We combine two waves of geocoded Demographic and Health Surveys data, collected before and after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, with spatial data on variation in the earthquake’s destruction. Our findings indicate that exposure to earthquake devastation increased the probability of both physical and sexual IPV one to two years following the disaster. These increases were accompanied by substantial changes in family functioning, the household economy, and women’s access to their social networks. Select household-level experiences during and after the earthquake, such as displacement, were also positively associated with IPV. These findings provide new insights into the multidimensional effects of disasters on family life and have important theoretical and policy implications that extend beyond the particular case of Haiti.https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-9-167/FamilyIntimate Partner ViolenceNatural Disaster |
| spellingShingle | Abigail Weitzman Julia Andrea Behrman Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti Sociological Science Family Intimate Partner Violence Natural Disaster |
| title | Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti |
| title_full | Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti |
| title_fullStr | Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti |
| title_short | Disaster, Disruption to Family Life, and Intimate Partner Violence: The Case of the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti |
| title_sort | disaster disruption to family life and intimate partner violence the case of the 2010 earthquake in haiti |
| topic | Family Intimate Partner Violence Natural Disaster |
| url | https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v3-9-167/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abigailweitzman disasterdisruptiontofamilylifeandintimatepartnerviolencethecaseofthe2010earthquakeinhaiti AT juliaandreabehrman disasterdisruptiontofamilylifeandintimatepartnerviolencethecaseofthe2010earthquakeinhaiti |