Diseño en el Software Quartus II

The open-ended questions in the survey were also intended to explore the coping strategies used by Pakistani young adults in the immediate situation of violence to manage the effects of IPV and the presence of protective factors in their lives which they think are helpful in dealing with IPV.

Taking the suggestion of Jackson (1999), that using open-ended questions to study resilience allow for more depth in understanding the consequences and meaning of violence, I used some open ended questions in my survey to develop an in-depth

154

understanding of the participants’ experiences and the meanings they constructed from their experiences, with attentiveness to themes and the language of resilience. Major themes drawn from the young adults’ own words/responses to the open-ended questions are presented in Table 30 and 31.

Table 30

Coping Strategies used by Young Adults on being Exposed to IPV as Reported by themselves (N=1046)

Broader categories Emerging Themes

Never happened 18.3

Do not want to share 1.6

No answer 8.1

Avoidance and social withdrawal Escape (going out of that situation) 35.2

Stop talking to anyone 5.8

Daydreaming/fantasy/denial 5.4

Try to forget/delete those memories 14.7 Turning to religion/ seeking

spiritual support

Pray to God/ reciting Quran/ Mannat /Sadqa

17.3 Distraction/seeking diversion Use media to divert attention (TV, radio,

internet) 11.9 Get busy 16.9 Poetry/drawing 2.4 Book reading 2.1 Smoking/sleeping pills/drugs 10.6

Self-destruction Self harm 3.2

Active coping / Solving family problems and role taking

Intervene 14.7

Talk to mother/convincing her to ignore and keep silent

7.4 Discuss the issue with parents separately (later on)

7.4

Try to save siblings 2.1

Seeking social support for emotional reasons/ catharsis

Sharing/back biting 14.7

Being humorous Jokes/act funny to make the home

environment better

2.2

Table 30 shows the coping strategies used by young adults to manage the effects of IPV. Young adults reported adopting the coping strategies that they thought would be most helpful to alleviate the effects of the situation that had existed since their childhood –

155

‘I never get stressed because of things which happened to my parents and for this, my father calls me as ‘a pathetic boy’ but I like the way I am as it really helps me in not getting to be a mental patient’ (Case B-268 showing indifference as coping strategy).

The coping strategies reported by young adults were emotion-oriented coping rather than problem-focused coping and in these, the strategies of avoidance and social withdrawal and seeking diversions were often reported by young adults -‘I used to

hide in blanket and cry in my childhood but now I try to put earphone and listen to radio in loud volume so that I do not hear what is going on into other room’ (Case G- 244). Perhaps this lesser focus on problem-oriented coping could be attributed to the damage on self-image as reported by young adults.

Turning to religion was the next most frequently reported category whereas a relatively lower proportion of respondents mentioned active coping (such as intervening) and seeking social support. The less active coping strategies could be explained by a cultural context where children and young people are not allowed to intervene into the matters of elders.

Perhaps the reason behind less mention of seeking social support (mostly sharing with siblings or backbiting about their father) is the taboo nature of the issue which some people reported - ‘I never shared this with anyone because it was our PERSONAL

matter’ (Case no. B-478). The word personal was capitalized by the participant who clearly communicated what he wanted to say.

Not even a single person mentioned utilizing resources and support systems like mental health care professionals. These findings point to the lack of availability of such services in Pakistan. Although there is one free counselling helpline service for

156

young people (run by a non-governmental organization), people are mostly unaware of this facility.

There was only one person who reported calling neighbours because of the fear of separation of their parents, however, this did not emerge as a theme which can also be explained in the context of considering the issue ‘personal’, as described above.

Table 31

Protective/ Resiliency Factors for Young Adults Exposed To IPV in their Own Perspectives (N=1046)

Broader category Emerging themes

Never happened 15.5

Do not want to share 0.8

No response 7.2

No one can help 29.9

Family Family members (Siblings, elders

in family)

24.7

Parents themselves 5.1

In-built resilience Myself/internal abilities/assets 10.1

Discussing issue 2.0

Social relationships Friends 6.2

Religious orientation Praying 8.9

reciting Quran 2.6

Escape and avoidance Forgetting 3.6

Media (distracting themselves by using TV, internet, Radio etc)

4.2 Escape (going out of that situation) 3.8

As shown in Table 31, around 30% of respondents mentioned absence of any protective factors in dealing with the effects of IPV in their lives in that they did not think that anyone could help them. Overall, participants were against talking about family matters with outside people - ‘others are never helpful; they are only there to

get a secret of your home and to spread it in neighbours and everywhere (Case. G- 441).

157

Around one quarter of young adults mentioned family as a protective factor. Secure attachment to parents or a significant other as a protective factor has also been highlighted by many researchers (e.g., Mullendar et al., 2002). The third significant category was inbuilt resilience –

‘I used to share about my feelings with friend or elder sister and I have overcome the effects because I was a brave, mature and optimistic person and I believe my internal attributes saved me from falling down. But everyone cannot be saved; as my brother’s future and life got destroyed’ (Case G-56).

Another notable category of themes was religious practices and seeking support from God - ‘I used to think that may God give me some magic so that I could correct my

family circumstances. And in my imagination I do this which at least relaxes me mentally’ (Case B-458).