Challenges in Shared Parenting Among Racial Minority Women Survivors of Domestic Violence With Young Children

This paper reports findings from a mixed-methods study, which aimed to examine challenges in shared parenting among racial minority women survivors of domestic violence who have a young child under the age of 4. Fifteen racial minority women were among the 84 respondents who first participated in an online questionnaire survey to study shared parenting experiences. Based on the questionnaire survey findings, we developed semi-structured questions and invited the surveyed women to participate in an in-depth individual interview. Five of the 15 racial minority women who participated in the survey were interviewed. These five women were no longer in their heterosexual relationships with the perpetrator of violence. From the quantitative data analysis, racial minority women in this study more frequently experienced physical hurt, excessive texting from ex-partners, self-reported anxiety, financial hardship, and a lack of social support, compared with the non-racialized participants. Findings from the qualitative interviews suggest that racial minority women in this study shared strong resilience in coping with all of these challenges. They value family ties, choose to forgo the court system, stay positive, and embrace new intimate relationships. This paper shares rare and valuable findings from these racial minority women survivors and discusses implications on education and practice for service providers.