Leaving An Abusive Partner

Four facets of leaving an abusive relationship are reviewed: (a) factors related to initially leaving an abusive partner; (b) the process of leaving an abusive relationship; (c) the psychological well-being of survivors after leaving; and (d) the predictors of this well-being. The conceptual and methodological limitations of studies in each of these areas are presented. Consistently found predictors of leaving include both material and psychological factors. Because battered women typically undergo several shifts in their thinking about the abuse before leaving permanently, research on leaving as a process is highlighted. A stress-process framework is used to explain the seemingly paradoxical finding that some women just out of the abusive relationship may have greater psychological difficulties than those who are still in it. For those experiencing the most stress, psychological health can worsen over time. Researchers and practitioners need to pay more attention to the plight of women who have left abusive partners.

[1]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Relationship status of battered women over time , 1994, Journal of Family Violence.

[2]  K. Berenson,et al.  The Process of Leaving an Abusive Relationship: The Role of Risk Assessments and Decision-Certainty , 2000, Journal of Family Violence.

[3]  Christine Fiore Lerner,et al.  Stay–Leave Decision Making in Battered Women: Trauma, Coping and Self-Efficacy , 2000, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[4]  B. Bidgood,et al.  Support groups for battered women: Research on their efficacy , 1993, Journal of Family Violence.

[5]  E. Heiby,et al.  Correlates of depressive symptoms among battered women , 1992, Journal of Family Violence.

[6]  Cal D. Stoltenberg,et al.  Evaluation of a treatment program for battered wives , 1991, Journal of Family Violence.

[7]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Long-term Trends in Depression among Women Separated from Abusive Partners , 2003 .

[8]  M. R. Laner.  Getting Out: Life Stories of Women Who Left Abusive Men , 2002 .

[9]  P. Mohr,et al.  A follow-up study of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression in Australian victims of domestic violence. , 2001, Violence and victims.

[10]  Jessica G. Burke,et al.  The Process of Ending Abuse in Intimate Relationships , 2001 .

[11]  T. Scheid.  Handbook of the sociology of mental health , 2001 .

[12]  Richard M. Tolman,et al.  Domestic Violence in the Lives of Women Receiving Welfare , 2001 .

[13]  B. Patzel.  WOMEN'S USE OF RESOURCES IN LEAVING ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS: A NATURALISTIC INQUIRY , 2001, Issues in mental health nursing.

[14]  Deborah K. Anderson.  Predicting long-term psychological well -being in women who have left their abusive partners. , 2001 .

[15]  Nancy Thoennes,et al.  Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence , 2000 .

[16]  M. Haj‐Yahia,et al.  The Experience of Formerly Battered Women with Divorce , 2000 .

[17]  Leaving an abusive dating relationship: An investment model comparison of women who stay versus women who leave. , 2000 .

[18]  P. Resick,et al.  Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking Behavior: Exploration of Patterns and Correlates in a Sample of Acutely Battered Women , 2000, Violence and Victims.

[19]  Z. Winstok,et al.  Choice and empowerment for battered women who stay: toward a constructivist model. , 2000, Social work.

[20]  Charles C. Benight,et al.  Coping Self‐Efficacy as a Mediator of Distress Following a Natural Disaster , 1999 .

[21]  Olga Molina.  The Effect of Divorce on African American Working Women , 1999 .

[22]  Judith Wuest,et al.  Not Going Back , 1999 .

[23]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Reducing violence using community-based advocacy for women with abusive partners. , 1999, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[24]  Leonard I. Pearlin,et al.  The stress process revisited: Reflections on concepts and their interrelationships. , 1999 .

[25]  J. Raphael.  Keeping Women Poor: How Domestic Violence Prevents Women From Leaving Welfare and Entering the World of Work, in Battered Women, Children, and Welfare Reform (Sage Press, 1999) , 1999 .

[26]  Robin Fitzgerald,et al.  Family Violence in Canada : A Statistical Profile 1998 , 1998 .

[27]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Voices of Strength and Resistance , 1998 .

[28]  Jessi L. Smith,et al.  Battered woman syndrome. , 1998, Hospital medicine.

[29]  Z. Eisikovits,et al.  "What It Was Won't Be Anymore": Reaching the Turning Point in Coping With Intimate Violence , 1998 .

[30]  M. Maconachie,et al.  Battered Women Seeking Solutions , 1998 .

[31]  N. Rhodes,et al.  Why do battered women stay?: Three decades of research , 1998 .

[32]  M. Sleutel.  Women's experiences of abuse: a review of qualitative research. , 1998, Issues in mental health nursing.

[33]  N. B. Miller,et al.  Stressful Life Events, Social Support, and the Distress of Widowed and Divorced Women , 1998 .

[34]  A. Okun.  Battered women who leave: An explanatory model of factors involved in the separation process. , 1998 .

[35]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Empowering survivors of abuse : health care for battered women and their children , 1998 .

[36]  D. VanLeeuwen,et al.  Abused Women in New Mexican Shelters: Factors That Influence Independence on Discharge , 1997 .

[37]  Virginia Thabes.  A Survey Analysis of Women's Long-Term, Postdivorce Adjustment , 1997 .

[38]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Predictors of Depression in Battered Women , 1997 .

[39]  A. Browne,et al.  Intimate violence in the lives of homeless and poor housed women: prevalence and patterns in an ethnically diverse sample. , 1997, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[40]  J Brown,et al.  Working Toward Freedom from Violence , 1997, Violence against women.

[41]  R. Carlin.  Developing self, women's process in ending an abusive relationship , 1997 .

[42]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  The experience of terminating an abusive relationship from an Anglo and African American perspective: a qualitative descriptive study. , 1997, Issues in mental health nursing.

[43]  S. Stith,et al.  Surviving Abusive Dating Relationships: Processes of Leaving, Healing, and Moving On , 1997 .

[44]  D. DeGarmo.  Identity relevance and disruption as predictors of psychological distress for widowed and divorced women , 1996 .

[45]  Carol O'Hara.  Changing for Good , 1996 .

[46]  D. Kurz.  Separation, Divorce, and Woman Abuse , 1996, Violence against women.

[47]  Adam Shapiro.  Explaining Psychological Distress in a Sample of Remarried and Divorced Persons , 1996 .

[48]  John M. Gottman,et al.  Psychological Factors in the Longitudinal Course of Battering: When Do the Couples Split Up? When Does the Abuse Decrease? , 1996, Violence and Victims.

[49]  E. Aldarondo,et al.  Cessation and persistence of wife assault: a longitudinal analysis. , 1996, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[50]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  The Role of Social Support in the Lives of Women Exiting Domestic Violence Shelters , 1995 .

[51]  J. Wuest,et al.  Counteracting abuse and breaking free: the process of leaving revealed through women's voices. , 1995, Health care for women international.

[52]  M. Daly,et al.  Lethal and Nonlethal Violence Against Wives , 1995 .

[53]  Caryl E. Rusbult,et al.  Remaining in an Abusive Relationship: An Investment Model Analysis of Nonvoluntary Dependence , 1995 .

[54]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  Women Who Use Domestic Violence Shelters: Changes in Depression Over Time , 1995 .

[55]  A. Kemp,et al.  Incidence and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Battered Women , 1995 .

[56]  J. Humphreys.  The Work of Worrying: Battered Women and Their Children , 1995, Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice.

[57]  K. Rettig,et al.  An examination of income adequacy for single women two years after divorce , 1994 .

[58]  J. Prochaska,et al.  Changing for Good , 1994 .

[59]  V. Garvin,et al.  Divorced women: factors contributing to resiliency and vulnerability , 1994 .

[60]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  An advocacy intervention program for women with abusive partners: Six-month follow-up , 1994, American journal of community psychology.

[61]  O. Barnett,et al.  It Could Happen to Anyone: Why Battered Women Stay , 1993, Violence and Victims.

[62]  Carlo C. DiClemente,et al.  The Transtheoretical Approach: Crossing Traditional Boundaries of Therapy , 1994 .

[63]  Dc Washington.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. , 1994 .

[64]  C. Kirkwood.  Leaving Abusive Partners: From the Scars of Survival to the Wisdom for Change , 1993 .

[65]  Barry L. Johnson,et al.  Profile and Strategies of Women who Have Ended Abuse , 1993 .

[66]  M. Daly,et al.  Spousal Homicide Risk and Estrangement , 1993, Violence and Victims.

[67]  D. Dutton,et al.  Emotional Attachments in Abusive Relationships: A Test of Traumatic Bonding Theory , 1993, Violence and Victims.

[68]  S. Hobfoll,et al.  Social support: Social resources and social context. , 1993 .

[69]  Y. Ulrich.  What helped most in leaving spouse abuse: implications for interventions. , 1993, AWHONN's clinical issues in perinatal and women's health nursing.

[70]  D. Foy,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder among battered women: risk and resiliency factors. , 1993, Violence and victims.

[71]  E. McDaniel.  Women, Violence, and Social Change , 1992 .

[72]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  An advocacy intervention program for women with abusive partners: Initial evaluation , 1992, American journal of community psychology.

[73]  E. Buckner,et al.  Multiple Predictors of Satisfactory Post-Divorce Adjustment of Single Custodial Parents , 1992 .

[74]  I. Johnson.  Economic, Situational, and Psychological Correlates of the Decision-Making Process of Battered Women , 1992 .

[75]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  After the Crisis: A Needs Assessment of Women Leaving a Domestic Violence Shelter , 1992, Violence and Victims.

[76]  P. Nurius,et al.  Coping Capacity Among Women with Abusive Partners , 1992, Violence and Victims.

[77]  Cris M. Sullivan,et al.  The provision of advocacy services to women leaving abusive partners: An examination of short-term effects , 1991, American journal of community psychology.

[78]  Y. Ulrich.  Women's reasons for leaving abusive spouses. , 1991, Health care for women international.

[79]  R. C. Silver,et al.  Coping with an Abusive Relationship: I. How and Why Do Women Stay?. , 1991 .

[80]  K. Bursik.  Correlates of Women's Adjustment During the Separation and Divorce Process , 1991 .

[81]  G. H. Young,et al.  New psychoanalytic perspectives on masochism and spouse abuse. , 1991 .

[82]  M. B. Frisch,et al.  A comparison of formerly and chronically battered women on cognitive and situational dimensions , 1991 .

[83]  C. Gray,et al.  The emotional phases of marital separation: an empirical investigation. , 1991, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[84]  L. Hoff.  Battered Women as Survivors , 1990 .

[85]  M. Duffy.  Mental Well-Being and Primary Prevention Practices in Women Heads of One-Parent Families , 1989 .

[86]  G. Nelson.  Life strains, coping, and emotional well-being: A longitudinal study of recently separated and married women , 1989, American journal of community psychology.

[87]  W. C. Compton,et al.  Intentions for postshelter living in battered women , 1989 .

[88]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  A Test of Two Explanatory Models Of Women's Responses to Battering , 1989, Nursing research.

[89]  K. Yllo,et al.  Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse , 1989, Violence and Victims.

[90]  K Landenburger,et al.  A process of entrapment in and recovery from an abusive relationship. , 1989, Issues in mental health nursing.

[91]  J. Malouff,et al.  The relationship between characteristics of the victim, persuasive techniques of the batterer, and returning to a battering relationship. , 1988, The Journal of social psychology.

[92]  M. Strube,et al.  The decision to leave an abusive relationship: empirical evidence and theoretical issues. , 1988, Psychological bulletin.

[93]  R. Dobash,et al.  Research as social action. The struggle for battered women. , 1988 .

[94]  W. Berman.  The relationship of ex-spouse attachment to adjustment following divorce. , 1988 .

[95]  M. Schlossberg.  The Evaluation and Treatment of Marital Conflict: A Four-Stage Approach. , 1988 .

[96]  E. Pleck.  Domestic Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy Against Family Violence from Colonial Times to the Present , 1988 .

[97]  P. Amato,et al.  Widows and divorcees with dependent children: Material, personal, family, and social well-being. , 1987 .

[98]  Ginny Nicarthy.  The ones who got away : women who left abusive partners , 1987 .

[99]  A. Scherman,et al.  The Impact of Children and Time Lapse Since Divorce on Women's Postdivorce Adjustment. , 1987 .

[100]  C. Bell.  Woman Abuse: Facts Replacing Myths , 1986 .

[101]  C. H. Shapiro,et al.  Battered Women: Mourning the Death of a Relationship , 1986 .

[102]  B. Wilcox.  Stress, coping, and the social milieu of divorced women. , 1986 .

[103]  B. Robinson,et al.  The Parental Divorce Transition: Divorce-Related Stressors and Well-Being. , 1985 .

[104]  C. Riessman,et al.  Explaining the Symptomatology of Separated and Divorced Women and Men: The Role of Material Conditions and Social Networks , 1985 .

[105]  B. Aguirre.  Why Do They Return? Abused Wives in Shelters , 1985 .

[106]  T. Mills.  The assault on the self: Stages in coping with battering husbands , 1985 .

[107]  M. Strube,et al.  Factors Related to the Decision to Leave an Abusive Relationship. , 1984 .

[108]  P. Voydanoff,et al.  Determinants of Work-Related Family Problems among Employed Parents. , 1984 .

[109]  B. F. Foye,et al.  Divorce as a Dual Transition: Interpersonal Loss and Role Restructuring , 1984 .

[110]  R. Mitchell,et al.  Coping with domestic violence: Social support and psychological health among battered women , 1983, American journal of community psychology.

[111]  M. Strube,et al.  The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Economic dependence and psychological commitment. , 1983 .

[112]  Kathleen J. Ferraro,et al.  How Women Experience Battering: The Process of Victimization , 1983 .

[113]  Lee H. Bowker,et al.  Beating Wife-Beating , 1983 .

[114]  Carol Ann Dalto.  Battered women: factors influencing whether or not former shelter residents return to the abusive situation. , 1983 .

[115]  Wesley G. Skogan,et al.  The National crime survey : working papers , 1982 .

[116]  M. D. Pagelow.  Factors Affecting Women's Decisions to Leave Violent Relationships* , 1981 .

[117]  M. Lieberman,et al.  The stress process. , 1981, Journal of health and social behavior.

[118]  D. Snyder,et al.  Predicting disposition following brief residence at a shelter for battered women , 1981 .

[119]  R. Emerson Dobash,et al.  Violence Against Wives: A Case Against the Patriarchy , 1981 .

[120]  N. Shainess.  Vulnerability to violence: masochism as process. , 1979, American journal of psychotherapy.

[121]  B. Rounsaville.  Theories in Marital Violence: Evidence from a Study of Battered Women , 1978 .

[122]  R. Gelles.  Abused Wives: Why Do They Stay. , 1976 .

[123]  J. Snell,et al.  THE WIFEBEATER'S WIFE; A STUDY OF FAMILY INTERACTION. , 1964, Archives of general psychiatry.