Help Seeking: Perceived Risks for African American Women

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that explored the help-seeking pathways of seven African American women following a nonsexual criminal victimization. The help-seeking narrative was reconstructed by conducting in-depth interviews with the women and their identified informal and formal providers of support. The findings revealed that the chosen help-seeking pathway was influenced by each woman's appraisal of the perceived benefits and costs of seeking assistance. Implications for practice are discussed.