NCJ Number
106214
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1987) Pages: 151-162
Date Published
1987
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined the interpersonal problemsolving skills of battered women while controlling for the effects of anxiety and depression. Subjects included 19 women who had been physically abused by a husband or boyfriend, 19 who were receiving counseling for a personal or marital/family problem, and 19 controls who reported neither battering nor counseling.
Abstract
Subjects were administered an interpersonal problemsolving inventory and asked to generate as many behavioral options as possible for each problem and then choose one specific option for a given situation. Subjects also were administered the BETA intelligence test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form-Y. No significant differences in intelligence were found for the three groups. Women in counseling were significantly more depressed and anxious than battered or control women. Compared to controls and women in counseling, battered women generated fewer total options, generated fewer effective options, and selected fewer effective options. Results provide support for a problemsolving skills deficit in battered women and reinforce the importance of skills training for these women. 25 references. (Author abstract modified)