Self-esteem, partner violence, and sexual behavior among indigenous women

Abstract

Indigenous women are a vulnerable group which faces a triple disadvantage: being women, being poor, and being indigenous. These women are immersed in a context where masculine dominance is prevalent, and where they do not or cannot use their right to autonomy; this situation has an impact on their sexual behavior.
Objective: To explore the associations of self-esteem, partner violence, and sexual behavior among indigenous women.
Method: This is a descriptive, correlational, and transversal study. The sample was constituted by 386 indigenous women from a community in the state of Puebla, Mexico, who were selected by simple random sampling. The data chart, and the self-esteem and violence scales were use as measurements. Regarding sexual behavior, the frequency of condom use in the last 12 months, and the type and number of sexual partners were used.
Results: The age median was 33 years old, 43% showed a low self-esteem, 63.2% have suffered partner violence and 16% from occasional partners, and 52% do not use condom. It was identified that in the presence of partner violence, low self-esteem arises (R2 =.047, F[386] = 18.73, P < .000), a situation which increments the risk-posing sexual behaviors (R2 = .019, F[386] = 7.42, P < .007).

Conclusion: The exploration of these variables allowed a better look into the factors which have impacts on the indigenous women; moreover, it is necessary to promote nursing interventions to explore other related factors as well, and also to design and implement timely strategic programs to address the issue.