Developing and Implementing a Domestic Violence Intervention Strategy in the Seventh-day

175 Pages·2017·1.81 MB·English

by  Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah

Andrews University
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Project Documents Graduate Research
2012
Developing and Implementing a Domestic
Violence Intervention Strategy in the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah
Andrews University
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ABSTRACT

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION STRATEGY IN THE SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST CHURCH IN PORT
HARCOURT, NIGERIA

by

Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah

Adviser: Rene D. Drumm
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Project Dissertation

Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Title: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION STRATEGY IN THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
CHURCH IN PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA

Name of Researcher: Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah
Name and degree of faculty adviser: Rene D. Drumm, Ph.D.
Date completed: December 2012

Problem
Increasingly Seventh-day Adventist church families in the Port Harcourt area of
Rivers Conference are experiencing domestic violence. During ministerial meetings,
pastors express their growing frustrations and concerns about family quarrels which
sometime result into physical attacks and such attacks then escalate beyond common
understanding.

Method
This exploratory study utilized a survey questionnaire administered to 377
participants, ages 18 years and above, attending Seventh-day Adventist churches in Port-
Harcourt, Nigeria. The instrument for this research was adapted from the Conflict Tactics
Scale (Straus, 1979) and the National Violence Against Women Survey (NAVAW)
(Tjaden & Thonnes, 2000). The CTS is a 39-item scale which I adapted to a 28-item scale
instrument in order to measure intimate partner victimization in my target population.
Utilizing a Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), I converted the raw data into a
form useful for analysis and displayed the results in simple percentages.
Results
The results of this study highlight six broad categories of abusive behavior that
are: physical, sexual, emotional, isolating, surveillance, and controlling behavior.
Controlling and demeaning behavior was the most frequently reported form of abuse in
this population.
Conclusions
Controlling and demeaning behavior, which increases the likelihood of physical
and sexual abuse (Antai, 2011; Johnson, 2006; Stark, 2007), was the most frequently
reported form of victimization experienced among the participants of this study. Findings
emphasize the need for pastoral care and the need for professional training on abuse
prevention for the clergy and laity.
Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION STRATEGY IN THE SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST CHURCH IN PORT
HARCOURT, NIGERIA

A Project Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry

by

Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah

December 2012
© Copyright by Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah 2012
All Rights Reserved
DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION STRATEGY IN THE SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST CHURCH IN PORT
HARCOURT, NIGERIA

A project dissertation
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Ministry

by
Evans Nwachukwu Nwaomah

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE

_______________________________ ______________________________
Adviser, Director, D.Min. Program
Rene D Drumm Skip Bell

______________________________ ______________________________
Ann-Marie Jones Dean, SDA Theological Seminary
Denis Fortin

_______________________________ ______________________________
David Penno Date approved
.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ viii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
Personal History ....................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ......................................................................... 2
Statement of the Task............................................................................... 5
Justification for the Project ...................................................................... 5
Expectations from This Project ................................................................ 7
Scope and Delimitations of the Study ...................................................... 7
Limitations of the Study........................................................................... 8
Definitions of Some Terms ...................................................................... 8
Description of the Research Process ........................................................ 9
Sample and Data Collection..................................................................... 11
Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 12
The Organization of the Chapter.............................................................. 12

2. THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY ... 14

The Institution of Marriage and the Family ............................................. 14
The Naming of the Woman in Gen 2:23 ............................................ 21
Leaving and Cleaving ........................................................................ 22
The Marriage Covenant ........................................................................... 23
The Status of Women in the Early Christian Century ....................... 24
Marriage and Family in the New Testament............................................ 26
Women and Submission .................................................................... 26
The Scripture and Domestic Abuse ................................................... 31
The Bible and Verbal Abuse .................................................................... 32
The Spirit of Prophecy on Marriage and the Family ............................... 34
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 35

iii
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 38

An Overview of Domestic Violence ........................................................ 41
Gender and Intimate Partner Violence ..................................................... 44
Types and Forms of Domestic Violence .................................................. 45
Sexual Abuse ..................................................................................... 46
Verbal and Psychological Abuse ....................................................... 47
Forms of Abuse ........................................................................................ 47
Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Africa .................................. 48
Domestic Violence and Women’s Health ................................................ 51
Risk Factors of Intimate Partner Violence ............................................... 52
Effects of IPV on Children ...................................................................... 53
Domestic Violence: Theories of Causation ............................................. 54
Cycle of Domestic Violence .............................................................. 54
Feminist Theory ................................................................................. 56
Cultural Explanations......................................................................... 57
Social Cognitive Theory .......................................................................... 57
Resource Theory ...................................................................................... 59
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 60

4. DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 61

Description of the Population .................................................................. 62
Methodology ............................................................................................ 62
Sample and Data Collection............................................................... 62
The Process of Data Collection .......................................................... 63
Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 65
Measures .................................................................................................. 66
Demographic and Background Variables ................................................ 67
Results ...................................................................................................... 68
Demographic and Participants’ Characteristics ....................................... 69
Experience of Physical Abuse Behavior .................................................. 73
Sexual Abuse ........................................................................................... 74
Emotional or Psychological Abuse .......................................................... 75
Surveillance Abuse Behavior ................................................................... 76
Isolating and Abusive Behavior ............................................................... 77
Controlling and Demeaning Abuse Behavior .......................................... 78
Opinions and Attitudes About Domestic Violence and the Church ........ 80
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 83

5. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. 84

Introduction .............................................................................................. 84
Major Findings ......................................................................................... 85
Physical Abuse Behavior ................................................................... 85
Sexual Abuse Behavior ...................................................................... 86
iv