Ability of Nursing Students to Recognize Signs of Violence Against Women Hatice Tambag ˘, PhD, RN, and Zekiye Turan, MSc Hatice Tambag ˘, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor, and Zekiye Turan, MSc, is a Lecturer at Hatay Health School Nursing Department, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey. Search terms: Knowledge, nursing student, violence, woman Author contact: htambag@mynet.com or htambag@mku.edu.tr, with a copy to the Editor: journal@nanda.org Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the ability of nursing students in a Turkish school of health science to recognize signs of violence against women. METHODS: This was a descriptive study. Data were collected via a personal information questionnaire and the Scale for Recognizing the Signs of Violence against Women by Nurses and Midwives. Two hundred fifty-nine students were included. RESULTS: The students’ total mean score on the Scale for Recognizing the Signs of Violence against Women by Nurses and Midwives was 17.79 ± 3.54. CONCLUSION: In general, nursing students are unable to recognize signs of violence against women. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The development and integration of courses on violence against women into the nursing curriculum are recommended. It is also recommended that the courses are offered every year of nursing education. AMAÇ: Aras ¸tırma sag ˘lık yüksekokulu hems ¸irelik bölümü ög ˘rencilerin kadına yönelik s ¸iddetin belirtilerini tanıma durumlarını belirlemek amacıyla yapıldı. YÖNTEM: Aras ¸tırma tanımlayıcı tipte yapılmıs ¸tır. Veriler, kis ¸isel bilgi formu ve “Hems ¸ire ve Ebelerin Kadına Yönelik S ¸iddet Belirtilerini Tanımalarına I ˙ lis ¸kin Ölçek” uygulanarak toplanmıs ¸tır. Aras ¸tırma 259 ög ˘renci ile yapılmıs ¸tır. BULGULAR: Ög ˘rencilerin genel olarak kadına yönelik s ¸iddet belirtilerini tanımalarına ilis ¸kin ölçek toplam puan ortalamaları 17.79 ± 3.54, olarak belirlenmis ¸tir. SONUÇLAR: Ög ˘rencilerin genel olarak s ¸iddet belirtilerini tanıma düzeyleri yetersiz bulunmus ¸tur. HEMS ¸I ˙ RELI ˙ K UYGULAMALARI I ˙ ÇI ˙ N ÖNERI ˙ LER: Kadına yönelik s ¸iddet belirtilerini tanımaya yönelik faktörler dikkate alınarak eg ˘itim programlarının olus ¸turulması ve bu programların tüm eg ˘itim yıllarına yayılacak s ¸ekilde müfredatın bir parçası haline getirilmesi önerilmektedir. Violence is a salient and serious public health problem that is increasingly encountered in every aspect of life around the world (Güler, Tel, & Tuncay, 2005). Violence is defined as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against another person that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, or psychological harm” (Kızmaz, 2006; World Health Organization, 2002). Aggressive and violent behavior has many causes (Gorman & Sultan, 2008). An ecological approach to abuse conceptualizes violence as a multifaceted phenomenon grounded in an interplay among personal, situational, and sociocultural factors (Heise, 1998). Sociocultural theories look at an aggressive individual’s poor interpersonal skills (Gorman & Sultan, 2008). Exposure to aggression and vio- lence as part of family life may also be a significant influ- ential factor in subsequent aggressive behavior. Children who are exposed to violence may view violence as a normal way to deal with others. The cycle of family violence con- tinues when children learn to use violence as a coping mechanism instead of socially acceptable appropriate coping behaviors. Poverty, deprivation, and hopelessness can also increase the risk of violent behavior (Gorman & Sultan, 2008). Threats, repression, or arbitrary prevention of freedom may take place in private or public life (United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 1993). Violence against women is a global issue. Violence has existed in every society in all eras and is closely associated with the process of social change (Akkurt, Sarı, & 107 © 2014 NANDA International, Inc. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge Volume 26, No. 3, July 2015