Clergy perspectives and practices regarding intimate violence: A rural view

Intimate violence has been recognized as a major problem in the United Stat es. The financial and social hardships of declining rural economies, the so cial isolation of distance and poor transportation, inadequate social servi ces for families in crisis, and limited options for women who might otherwi se leave abusive partners are risk factors for intimate violence in rural a reas. Church-based prevention programs are considered particularly useful i n rural communities. If preventive health programs engage them properly rur al church members' overlapping social structures and their especially inter connected social circles can spread and support new ideas and practices. Th is stud was conducted in four rural, predominately white, southern Illinois counties. The survey instrument used consisted of four subscales, measurin g knowledge about, attitudes toward, and practices to prevent intimate viol ence as well as religious ideology. Overall, clergy knowledge and attitudes about intimate violence in this study did not necessarily translate into a ctual prevention practices against intimate violence. However, liberal cler gy tend to employ prevention practices move often when compared with conser vative clergy. Nevertheless, rural churches and their clergy seem to he pro mising sources for diffusion of intimate violence prevention information, a ttitudes and acceptable standards of behavior to rural communities.