Coping and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Psychological Functioning in Domestic Violence Survivors

Abstract

This study examines the differential effects of adult and childhood physical and psychological abuse, abuse-specific coping, and psychological adjustment in battered women seeking emergency shelter. Multivariate regression analyses confirmed the devastating impact of psychological abuse (childhood and concurrent) on battered women's adjustment. The results corroborated prior research suggesting a cumulative vulnerability to psychological victimization in a substantial proportion of residents. Unexpectedly, frequency of physical violence was unrelated to women's distress. The study argues that modes of coping traditionally considered adaptive (e.g., engaged, proactive) may be unsafe for battered women and children. The multifaceted nature of survivors' coping choices is discussed.

Differences in Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Lifetime Trauma Exposure in Formerly Abused Women With Mild Versus Moderate to Severe Chronic Pain

“…In the total sample of women with chronic pain (n = 65), 70.8% reported total CES-D scores >21 compared to only 51.6% of the women in the study by Wuest and colleagues (2008). Other studies of abused women with similarly high total CES-D scores included women on entry (Lewis et al, 2006) and after a 2-week stay in a battered women's shelter (Rowbottom, Gordon, Jarvis, & Novaco, 2005). Our findings suggest that depressive symptoms persist even in women who are no longer being abused and who are not in emergency shelters but are in chronic pain.…”

Coping variables that mediate the relation between intimate partner violence and mental health outcomes among low-income, African American women

“…More active strategies are used is less volatile situations and private or nonconfrontational strategies in more violent situations. Thus, they perceive which coping responses are less likely to lead to an escalation of violence and those that are likely to be life-threatening (Lewis et al, 2006). Unfortunately, they may not be aware that the use of multiple coping strategies, whether active or nonconfrontational, is related to an increase in abuse.…”

“…Abused African American women may rely on prayer because it is a culturally validated private method of coping that may be perceived as safer than direct or public forms of coping aimed at changing the balance of power, the abuser's behavior, and/or leaving the relationship (Waldrop & Resick, 2004). Some women fear the consequences of public coping strategies (e.g., seeking support from friends, family, or mental health professionals, attending places of worship) because their partners have made coercive threats that prohibit disclosure of the abuse, making private coping more acceptable (Lewis et al, 2006).…”

‘You just deal with it. You have to when you’ve got a child’: A narrative analysis of mothers’ accounts of how they coped, both during an abusive relationship and after leaving

“…For example, proactive ways of coping -usually considered adaptive -may antagonise a volatile partner, whereas less direct ways of coping -such as not thinking about a problem -may help a woman to stay safe in a threatening situation (Lewis et al, 2006).…”