The effect of learned helplessness and gender perceptions on psychological well-being of women exposed to violence

This study aimed to examine the effects of learned helplessness and perceptions of gender roles on the psychological well-being of women experiencing intimate partner violence. The population of the study consisted of women who sought help at the police station of the emergency department of an educational research hospital in Gaziantep, Turkey, and the sample included 125 women who agreed to participate in the study. The data of the study were collected using a "Personal Information Form," "Learned Helplessness Explanation Form" (LHEF), "Perceptions of Gender Roles Scale" (PGRS), "Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale" (WEMWBS). The data obtained from the study were analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 22 software package. It was observed that 93.6% of the women participating in the study were exposed to physical violence, 12.8% of them were exposed to sexual violence, 40.0% to economic violence and 36.8% to emotional violence. It was determined that 72.8% of the families were aware of the violence, 45.1% were not interested despite being aware of it, 22.4% of the women had a mental disorder after the violence, and 53.6% of those with mental disorders were treated. 25.6% of the women stated that they had attempted suicide and 26.4% stated that they wanted to die. The total mean score of women's LHEF was 17.76±4.51, the mean score of PGRS was 76.34±21.71, and the mean total score of WE-MIOS was 40.57±13.88. It was observed that women's perceptions of learned helplessness and gender perceptions were moderate and their mental well-being levels were slightly below the medium value, which was not at the desired level. There was a negative correlation between the mean scores of the WEMWBS and the women's LHEF (r=-0.405, p<0.001), and a positive relationship between the mean scores of the PGRS and the WEMWBS (r=0.732, p<0.001). As women's perceptions of learned helplessness increase, their mental well-being levels decrease. As women's gender perceptions increase positively, mental well-being increase. According to the multiple linear regression analysis, it was found that learned helplessness and gender perception together predicted 55.2% of the change in mental well-being. In these initiatives, it is recommended to prioritize initiatives to increase women's perceptions of gender in a positive way and to change their perceptions of learned helplessness.