Investigation of marriage constructs of women who suffered and not suffered from domestic violence

In this study which is planned as two stages, the purpose of Study 1 is to reveal marital constructs of women who suffered from domestic violence; and the aim of Study 2 is to examine marital constructs of women who suffered and not suffered from domestic violence. Study 1 was designed as a qualitative multi-case study and Study 2 was designed as a quantitative multi-case study model. Semi-Structured Interview Form was used as data collection tool in Study 1, and Personal Information Form, Exposure to Violence Information Form and Repertory Grid Form were used as data collection tools in Study 2. According to the content analysis results for Study 1, marital constructs used by women who suffered from domestic violence are as follows: "effective communication-conflict / fight", "calmness-aggression / threat", "love / lovelessness", "economical comfort-economic troubles, "happiness-unhappiness", "spousal support-lack of spousal support", "interest-indifference", "respect-disrespect", "being autonomous from the origin family-being dependent on the origin family", "trust-insecurity" ". According to the findings obtained in Study 2, women who suffered from domestic violence described their marriages with negative characteristics. Women who suffered from domestic violence stated that their current marriages have similar and different aspects with their ideal marriages and exemplary marriages. Women who not suffered from domestic violence stated that their current marriages had similar characteristics with their ideal marriages, dream marriages and exemplary marriages. In addition, women who not suffered from domestic violence associated their current marriages with positive personal structures. According to the findings obtained from this study, women exposed to domestic violence perceive their marriage positively and negatively in some aspects; and women who not suffered from domestic violence evaluate their marriage positively. Keywords: Domestic violence, personal construct, elements, repertory grid technique, marriage construct