The Hmong Community: Acculturation and Utilization of Domestic Violence Services

This study examined the cultural beliefs surrounding domestic violence of those in the Hmong community and the role of acculturation and how these affect the utilization of domestic violence services. Domestic violence is an issue in many communities but often hidden or not spoken of in the Hmong community. Some of the overarching themes that have been identified to play a role in domestic violence in the Hmong community include various cultural norms, such as patriarchal values, traditional gender roles, and the value of family, with the addition of acculturation difficulties. A mixed method study was facilitated using the General Ethnicity Questionnaire (GEQ) (Tsai, 2001) to evaluate acculturation along with additional survey questions regarding perceived level of acculturation, beliefs about domestic violence in the Hmong community, values that the Hmong community holds, and beliefs about what women experiencing domestic violence should do. Although the role of acculturation was not found to be statistically significant, the findings indicate that domestic violence is a prevalent issue in the Hmong community in which needs to be better researched and addressed. The results suggest that regardless of acculturation, there is openness to utilizing domestic violence services. Implications for clinical social work practice and future research are discussed