Predicting Women's Intentions to Leave Abusive Relationships: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior1

A theoretically derived decision‐making model was applied to predict women's intentions to remain in or to terminate physically abusive relationships with male partners. Participants were 48 women residing in a shelter for battered women who responded to questionnaires assessing the components of the theory of planned behavior. Data provided support for the model. Specifically, women were found to have greater intentions to leave the relationships if they held positive attitudes toward leaving and believed they were in control of leaving the relationship. Normative beliefs were not predictive of intentions to leave. Empirically based suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of interventions are discussed.     

Suffering and sanctification: The religious context of Battered Women's Syndrome

Women who are physically and mentally abused by their partners have been described as suffering from Battered Women's Syndrome. An element of Battered Women's Syndrome is repeatedly returning to the abusive relationship, putting oneself at risk for further harm. Clinical case studies suggest that women who are strongly religious may believe it their duty to remain in abusive relationships to honor their marriage vows or to demonstrate their faith. This paper explores the basis of those beliefs and advocates a counseling perspective that frees abuse sufferers from a sense of obligation to their victimizers.     

The Battered Committed Christian Woman: The Value Difference

Many studies have been conducted to examine why some battered women return to abusive relationships (Alsdurf & Alsdurf, 1989a, 1989b; Herbert, Silver, & Ellard, 1991; Hoffman, 1992; Strube, 1988; Strube & Barbour, 1983; Walker, 1977–1978). The authors review factors linked to the battered woman's return to the abusive environment and suggest an additional factor—the values of the woman. Moral development and some of the beliefs of the committed Christian woman are examined. The influence of these factors on her decision to remain in the abusive relationship are discussed. Interventions that accommodate to the framework of the committed Christian woman's value/belief system are explored. Counselors are also encouraged to explore their own value systems in relation to their clients to ascertain if and how these values may influence their clients.     

Why do battered women stay?: Three decades of research

A review of the domestic violence research was conducted to assess the most salient factors that predict the likelihood of a woman remaining in or leaving an abusive relationship. The research is still in its early stage and no single theory can confidently predict this tendency on the part of battered women. Research that currently appears to provide the best explanations for remaining in an abusive relationship and factors that enable women to end their abuse are summarized.     

Why do battered women stay?: Three decades of research

A review of the domestic violence research was conducted to assess the most salient factors that predict the likelihood of a woman remaining in or leaving an abusive relationship. The research is still in its early stage and no single theory can confidently predict this tendency on the part of battered women. Research that currently appears to provide the best explanations for remaining in an abusive relationship and factors that enable women to end their abuse are summarized.     

Exploring Women's Expectations of Recovery From Intimate Partner Violence: A Phenomenological Study

Occupational therapy literature related to intimate partner violence primarily focuses on clients' pragmatic concerns. The purpose of this study was to explore women's recovery needs for the first six months after leaving the abusive relationship. Specifically, the focus explored how women experiencing intimate partner violence anticipate their recovery process to progress and explored their perceptions regarding the obstructions and challenges that influence that process. As part of an ongoing, multiyear study, in-depth interviews based on Kawa Model river drawings were conducted at a domestic violence center with eight women. Multiple themes were identified highlighting pragmatic and personal objectives.     

Why do people remain in abusive relationships?

Increasingly ministers and pastoral counselors are being consulted by people who are in abusive relationships. Consequently, it is important for all ministers and pastoral counselors to develop both an intellectual and an emotional appreciation for the complexities involved in remaining in, or leaving, abusive relationships. This article discusses six basic reasons why people choose to remain in abusive relationships, and concludes with three pastoral implications for ministers who counsel people in such relationships.     

The Buffering Role of Social Support Perceptions in Relation to Eating Disturbances among Women in Abusive Dating Relationships

Abuse is often associated with diminished social support networks, which typically serve to buffer individuals against stress-related outcomes, including eating disorders. The goal of the present study was to examine whether eating disturbances among women in abusive dating relationships varied as function of perceived social support. Although both physical and psychological aggression in women's (N=83) dating relationships was associated with symptomatic dieting and bulimic symptoms, only psychological aggression predicted unique variance. Although psychological aggression was directly related to eating symptoms, support from friends diminished the relation to bulimic symptoms, possibly because such support facilitated women's ability to distract themselves from their abusive situations. In contrast, perceived parental support buffered women in physically abusive relationships from disturbed eating patterns. Thus, depending on the nature of abuse women experienced, social support resources were differentially effective in buffering women from eating disturbances.     

Systemic Barriers Faced by Women Attempting to Leave Abusive Military Marriages

This narrative study features 8 women who shared their stories of systemic barriers faced in the process of leaving an abusive military marriage. The themes of power and control, protection of the service member, entitlement, infallibility, safe places are not safe, and cultural ideals of loyalty are presented and emphasized with excerpts from the women's narratives. Implications are identified for counselors in the roles of practitioner and advocate, along with suggestions of future directions for research.     

Perceptions of Boundary Ambiguity in the Process of Leaving an Abusive Partner

The process of leaving an abusive partner has been theorized using the Stages of Change Model. Although useful, this model does not account for changes in relational boundaries unique to the process of leaving. Using family stress and feminist perspectives, this study sought to integrate boundary ambiguity into the Stages of Change Model. Boundary ambiguity is defined as a perception of uncertainty as to who is in or out of a family system (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). Twenty‐five mothers who had temporarily or permanently left their abusers were interviewed. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory methods. Results identify types, indicators of, and mothers' responses to boundary ambiguity throughout the five stages of change. Most mothers and abusers fluctuated between physical and psychological presence and absence over multiple separations. The integration of boundary ambiguity into the Stages of Change Model highlights the process of leaving an abusive partner as systemic, fluid, and nonlinear.     

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Incarcerated Women's Responses to Abuse

SUMMARY

Although women are often criticized for not leaving abusive relationships, most abused women actively attempt to protect themselves. This study proposed an ecological model to explain strategic responses to abuse, evaluating factors at four levels: Childhood, Relationship, Individual Impact of Abuse, and Community. Data was retrospectively collected from 85 incarcerated women, a population that is disproportionately affected by trauma and has unique intervention needs. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses confirmed that the proposed ecological model accounts for variance in six strategic response categories: placating, resisting, safety, legal, formal, and informal. Findings are discussed in terms of intervention implications.     

The Stories and Strengths of Women Who Leave Battering Relationships

SUMMARY

With the dearth of research on reasons battered women leave abusive relationships, the authors felt urgency in addressing this side of battered women's issues, which has traditionally focused on why women stay. The authors directly studied 10 battered women, who had been out of the relationship for at least six months. This qualitative study was composed of open-ended questions and a Self-Control Schedule to determine learned resourcefulness. Significant sources of strength, other than parental support, were found in the lives of these women, which included siblings, close friends, and in childhood, relationships with other adults. Ninety percent of the participants attribute their ability to cope with stress, as well as leave the abusive relationship, to having a sense of spirituality.     

Clinically abusive relationships in an unselected birth cohort: men's and women's participation and developmental antecedents

In an unselected birth cohort (N=980, age 24-26 years), individuals in abusive relationships causing injury and/or official intervention (9% prevalence) were compared with participants reporting physical abuse without clinical consequences and with control participants who reported no abuse, on current characteristics and prospective developmental risks. In nonclinically abusive relationships, perpetrators were primarily women. In clinically abusive relationships, men and women used physical abuse, although more women needed medical treatment for injury. Women in clinically abusive relationships had childhood family adversity, adolescent conduct problems, and aggressive personality; men had disinhibitory psychopathology since childhood and extensive personality deviance. These findings counter the hibitory assumption that if clinical abuse was ascertained in epidemiological samples, it would be primarily man-to-woman, explained by patriarchy rather than psychopathology.     

Women Surviving an Abusive Relationship: Grief and the Process of Change

The authors briefly survey the literature about women in abusive relationships and discuss key issues about the change process that arise from that work and are consistent with the grieving process. The constructs of depression, guilt, and decision-making difficulty among women abused by an intimate partner are examined and compared with the perspective of the normal grieving of a major loss. Implications for counseling practice are considered.     

“We Told You that's How They Are”: Responses To White Women in Abusive Intimate Relationships with Men of Color

The urging by interracial couples to be accepted as “normal” couples may present as challenging if problems arise in the relationship; especially if those “problems” are of an abusive or violent nature. Drawing on semi-structured, in-depth interviews we analyze the experiences of White women in abusive intimate relationships with men of color. We query the struggles of the women negotiating these relationships and explore the responses the women receive by family, friends, the general public, and workers in the criminal justice system and social and medical services. We argue that White women abused by men of color face additional challenges because of outsiders' disapproving views of the interracial nature of the relationships.     

The Contextual Role of Depression within Couples Experiencing Partner Violence

Despite previous research suggesting a link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression within romantic relationships, few studies have examined the role of depression in couples experiencing violence. Using dyadic data of 129 heterosexual couples seeking couples therapy for high conflict including physical IPV, depressive symptoms were evaluated as a moderator in the association between psychological and physical IPV. Results indicated that moderate and high reports of women's depressive symptoms provided a context, while men's psychological abuse toward them moved from low to high, for women to be more physically abusive toward their partners. Further, low reports of women's depressive symptoms provided a context, while men's psychological abuse toward them moved from low to high, for women to be less physically abusive toward their partners. Better understanding the role of depression and how it may offer a context for physical violence assists helping professionals in holistically addressing violence within romantic relationships.     

Abusive supervision and workplace deviance and the moderating effects of negative reciprocity beliefs

In this study, the authors examine the relationship between abusive supervision and employee workplace deviance. The authors conceptualize abusive supervision as a type of aggression. They use work on retaliation and direct and displaced aggression as a foundation for examining employees' reactions to abusive supervision. The authors predict abusive supervision will be related to supervisor-directed deviance, organizational deviance, and interpersonal deviance. Additionally, the authors examine the moderating effects of negative reciprocity beliefs. They hypothesized that the relationship between abusive supervision and supervisor-directed deviance would be stronger when individuals hold higher negative reciprocity beliefs. The results support this hypothesis. The implications of the results for understanding destructive behaviors in the workplace are examined.     

The Dark Side of Heterosexual Romance: Endorsement of Romantic Beliefs Relates to Intimate Partner Violence

Romance and control are often conflated by the media, and individuals may believe that certain controlling or jealous behaviors by men toward women are romantic and can be a sign of love and commitment in heterosexual relationships. The current study explored three types of romantic beliefs among women: endorsement of the ideology of romanticism, highly valuing romantic relationships, and the belief that jealousy is good. The goal was to determine whether these beliefs would be related to finding controlling behaviors romantic as well as to reported experiences of both physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV). We surveyed 275 heterosexual-identified women, aged 18 to 50, and measured their endorsement of romantic beliefs, the extent to which they romanticized controlling behavior, and experiences of physical and psychological abuse within their current or most recent romantic relationship. Romantic beliefs were related to romanticizing controlling behaviors, which, in turn, was related to experiences of IPV. There was also a significant indirect relationship between romantic beliefs and experiences of IPV. The data indicate that seemingly positive romantic ideologies can have insidious negative effects. Findings may be useful for clinicians and those who advocate for prevention of IPV as they illustrate a need to refocus traditional ideas of healthy relationships at the societal level.     

“Why me?”: Low-Income Women’s Poverty Attributions,Mental Health,and Social Class Perceptions

Although much is known about broad societal attitudes toward poverty, less is known about how women perceive their own poverty. We sought to examine the types of self attributions low-income women make about their poverty, as well as the association of self poverty attributions to women’s mental health and upward mobility beliefs. Using close-ended questions in a community sample of 66 low-income mothers from the Midwestern United States, we found these women were most likely to attribute their poverty to issues related to having children, their romantic relationships, and structural/government blame. The least endorsed attributions for poverty were fatalistic and individualistic reasons. Attributing one’s poverty to children and structural reasons was related to greater depression, and attributing one’s poverty to romantic relationships and structural reasons was related to greater anxiety. Moreover, attributing one’s poverty to children and romantic relationships was positively related to upward mobility beliefs, whereas individualistic attributions were negatively related to upward mobility beliefs. Understanding how women view their poverty and upward mobility can help to improve interventions and policies aimed at low-income women.     

‘Acting in the Children’s Best Interest?’: Examining Victims’ Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Victims’ responses to violent experiences within intimate relationships are highly diverse and can range from remaining silent, at least temporarily, to disclosing the abuse to informal and formal sources of support. Decisions to remain silent or to reach out for support are influenced by a complex range of factors, including situational circumstances, such as the presence of children. Using data from in-depth interviews with victims of IPV (N = 29) in Southeast Queensland, Australia, I examined victims’ responses to IPV when children are present in the abusive household. Victims, who accessed general formal support sources, including the criminal justice systems and Child Protection Services (CPS), frequently faced stereotypical and victim-blaming attitudes along with a lack of understanding of the dynamics of IPV and the circumstances surrounding victims’ help-seeking decisions. The presence of children in abuse relationships complicated victims’ help-seeking decisions because fear of harm and loss of custody often delayed or hindered the disclosure of IPV to formal support sources. Once disclosing the abuse victims often found themselves trapped between CPS expectations to protect their children by leaving the abusive partner and a reluctance on behalf of judges and magistrates to offer the necessary protection by including children on granted Domestic Violence Orders (DVO). These findings highlight the ongoing need for specialized training of CPS personnel, judges and magistrates along with an ongoing collaboration with the women’s sector to ensure the safety of victims and their children throughout the help-seeking process and to improve victims’ confidence in disclosing IPV.