Domestic violence in Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian families: a clinical sociological and qualitative study.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20234224

The field of multicultural mental health has stressed the influence of ethnicity, culture, race, language, family structure, norms, as well as the potential impact of culture and gender oppression on clients and counselors. This clinical sociological and qualitative study examines experiences with domestic violence among three primary Portuguese speaking cultural groups in Massachusetts, namely Portuguese, Cape Verdeans, and Brazilians. Its objective is to present an inclusive study of Portuguese speaking cultural groups, which, demographically, constitute a meaningful proportion of the state's population that receives psychiatric and health care services for the consequences of domestic violence. In this context, the term "Portuguese-speaking cultural groups" denotes ethnic groups that possessing similarities of language, cultural norms, such as patriarchy, family structure, traditional gender roles, and Catholicism, notwithstanding diversity in national origin, ethnicity, and racial identity.