Termination or Resumption of Cohabitation in Woman Battering Relationships: A Statistical Study (From Coping With Family Violence: Research and Policy Perspectives, P 107-121, 1988, Gerald T Hotaling, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-114444)

• NCJ Number: 114450
• Author(s): L Okun
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data from 300 women who were battered by their male conjugal partners and who took refuge at the battered women's shelter in Washtenaw County, Michigan formed the basis of an analysis of the factors related to a woman's decision to leave or stay in an abusive relationship.

Abstract

Information came from intake forms, public divorce records, and a questionnaire completed by 19 current and former shelter workers. Results showed that more than 30 percent of the women terminated their relationships beginning directly with the shelter stay, and more than 43 percent terminated the relationship within 2 years of the shelter stay. The relative economic position of the battered woman and her violent mate was strongly related to the outcome of the relationship. In addition, many battered women tended to go through several temporary conjugal separations before making a permanent conjugal break. The separations appeared to represent a progressive process of building up resources and becoming more competent at living separately and did not appear to be an endless treadmill. Implications for counseling of woman abusers, statistical analyses, and 16 references.