Emerging Adult Women's Views-of-Self in Intimate Partner Relationships That Are Troubled

Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2019 Apr;40(4):289-296. doi: 10.1080/01612840.2018.1524529. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe how emerging adult (EA) women describe their views-of-self in troubled relationships. Fourteen EA women (ages 18-25 years) wrote four stories about their troubled relationships during a guided-writing intervention. Qualitative descriptive methods and content analysis were used to identify common views-of-self. Four views-of-self in troubled relationships and contrasting views-of-self emerged: (i) silent self-vocal self, (ii) sacrificing self-prioritized self, (iii) caretaking self-boundary-setting self, and (iv) insecure self-secure self. Mental health nurses and other clinicians can use these views-of-self pairs to guide their discussions with EA young women who are involved in troubled relationships.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Intimate Partner Violence / psychology*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Qualitative Research
  • Self Concept*
  • Women / psychology*
  • Writing
  • Young Adult