In many parts of the world, young adult women have higher levels of common mental disorders than men. The exacerbation of domestic violence (DV) by migration is a salient social determinant of poor mental health. Ecological models describe factors contributing to DV as operating at individual, family, cultural, and societal levels. We explored the interplay among these factors in an Indian community living in Melbourne, Australia, in a qualitative participatory action research study using a modified Forum Theater approach. We here present findings on connections between migration, societal factors, and social/family/cultural factors in DV. The study captured the voices of women living in the community as they describe how DV contributes to their emotional difficulties. Improved understanding of the sociocultural dynamics of DV and the associated social distress in this migrant Indian community can be used to guide the development of culturally sensitive prevention and response programs to assist migrant women from the Indian subcontinent who present with psychopathology and suicidal behaviors associated with DV. © 2015, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.

Australian-Indian migrant women Social distress Suicide domestic violence psychopathology Mental health sociocultural factors

information processing Australia India Caucasian Indian mental health human middle aged social aspect Aged ethnology qualitative research Mental Disorders interview mental disease Young Adult Humans migrant psychology Adolescent Domestic Violence Interviews as Topic social stress male female Aged, 80 and over very elderly cultural factor Article adult migration European Continental Ancestry Group community living Cultural Characteristics recreation Transients and Migrants social class Focus Groups Suicide social behavior