Informal social networks play a critical role in buffering the negative effects of stressful life events. For women experiencing the stress of a violent relationship, family and friends are among the first sources of support sought; however, reactions to the abuse by family and friends are not uniformly perceived as helpful by survivors. The current study takes a qualitative approach to examining the range of possible reactions survivors may encounter from their social networks regarding the abuse. Special attention is given to negative and mixed reactions, as they have previously been under-examined in the literature. Findings suggest that survivors (N = 45) regularly experience negative and mixed reactions. Emergent themes suggest that both positive and negative reactions to abuse could be understood in four broad arenas: safety, emotional availability, input, and aid. However, positive and negative reactions emerged as distinct constructs within each arena; mixed reactions took multiple forms including being within person and within network.

Once an intervention has been found to be effective, it is important to examine the processes and factors within the program that led to its success. The current study examined survivors’ reflections on the Community Advocacy Project, an empirically supported intervention for women with abusive partners. The study examined the service delivery processes that survivors affirmed or identified as core components of the intervention. Qualitative analysis of interviews with 51 survivors indicated that 3 main service delivery elements contributed to positive outcomes: orientation to the whole person, unconditional validation and acceptance, and an orientation to information provision and action. These overarching themes are described and implications for domestic violence services and dissemination are discussed.

A community sample of two hundred pregnant women reported on their experiences of psychological abuse, depressive symptoms, and emotional support. Findings indicated that prenatal depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between prenatal severity of psychological abuse and postpartum depressive symptoms. In addition, prenatal emotional support moderated the relationship between the severity of prenatal psychological abuse and prenatal depressive symptoms. Emotional support, therefore, was considered to act as a buffer for psychological abuse severity, as high levels of emotional support were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms under conditions of more severe psychological abuse. These results were over and above the effects of the physical violence that these women experienced. Implications for research and practice are discussed.