The current longitudinal study examined the relative impact of symptoms and appraisals as well as contextual and demographic factors on women’s subsequent readiness to leave a relationship following intimate partner abuse. An ethnically diverse sample of women (N = 177) completed measures assessing posttrauma appraisals, symptoms, dependence on the perpetrator, and abuse characteristics. One year later, women reported on their readiness to leave the relationship. Regression analyses revealed that readiness to leave was (a) positively predicted by fear appraisals, (b) negatively predicted by shame appraisals, and (c) significantly associated with additional contextual factors (i.e., dependence on the perpetrator, stalking behaviors).
AlexanderP. C.TracyA.RadekM.KoverolaC. (2009). Predicting stages of change in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 1652-1672.
2.
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
BarnettO. W. (2001). Why battered women do not leave, Part 2: External inhibiting factors—Social support and internal inhibiting factors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2, 3-35.
4.
BeckA. T.SteerR. A.CarbinM. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77-100.
5.
BeldingM. A.IguchiM. Y.LambR. J.LakinM.TerryR. (1995). Stages and processes of change among polydrug users in methadone maintenance treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 39, 45-53.
6.
BlissM. J.CookS.KaslowN. J. (2007). An ecological approach to understanding incarcerated women’s responses to abuse. Women and Therapy, 29, 97-115.
7.
BlissM. J.Ogley-OliverE.JacksonE.HarpS.KaslowN. J. (2008). African American women’s readiness to change abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 161-171.
8.
BonomiA. E.AndersonM. L.RivaraF. P.ThompsonR. S. (2007). Health outcomes in women with physical and sexual intimate partner violence exposure. Journal of Women’s Health, 16, 987-997.
9.
BrewinC. R.AndrewsB.RoseS. (2000). Fear, helplessness, and horror in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 499-510.
10.
BrownJ. (1997). Working toward freedom from violence: The process of change in battered women. Violence Against Women, 3, 5-26.
11.
BrownL. S.FreydJ. J. (2008). PTSD criterion A and betrayal trauma: A modest proposal for a new look at what constitutes danger to self. Trauma Psychology Newsletter, 3(1), 11-15.
12.
BurkeJ. G.DennisonJ.GielenA. C.McDonnellK.O’CampoP. (2004). Ending intimate partner violence: An application of the transtheoretical model. American Journal of Health Behavior, 28, 122-133.
13.
BurkeJ. G.GielenA. C.McDonnellK. A.O’CampoP.MarmanS. (2001). The process of ending abusive relationships: A qualitative exploration of the transtheoretical model. Violence Against Women, 7, 1144-1163.
14.
BurkeJ. G.MahoneyP.GielenA.McDonnellK. A.O’CampoP. (2009). Defining appropriate stages of change for intimate partner violence survivors. Violence and Victims, 24, 36-51.
15.
BurkittK. H.LarkinG. L. (2008). The transtheoretical model in intimate partner violence victimization: Stage changes over time. Violence and Victims, 23, 411-431.
16.
ByrneC. A.AriasI. (2004). Predicting women’s intentions to leave abusive relationships: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 2586-2601.
17.
CampbellJ.RoseL.KubJ.NeddD. (1998). Voices of strength and resistance: A contextual and longitudinal analysis of women’s responses to battering. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 743-762.
18.
CampbellJ. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359, 1331-1336.
19.
ChangJ. C.DadoD.HawkerL.ClussP. A.BuranoskyR.SlagelL.. (2010). Understanding turning points in intimate partner violence: Factors and circumstances leading women victims toward change. Journal of Women’s Health, 19, 251-259.
20.
DePrinceA. P.BelknapJ.LabusJ. L.BuckinghamS. E.GoverA. R. (2012). The impact of victim-focused outreach on criminal legal system outcomes following police-reported intimate partner abuse. Violence Against Women, 18, 861-881. doi:10.1177/1077801212456523
21.
DePrinceA. P.ChuA. T.PinedaA. S. (2011). Links between specific posttrauma appraisals and three forms of trauma-related distress. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 3, 430-441. doi:10.1037/a0021576
22.
DePrinceA. P.LabusJ. L.BelknapJ.BuckinghamS. E.GoverA. R. (2012). The impact of community-based outreach on psychological distress and victim safety in women exposed to intimate partner abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 211-221. doi:10.1037/a0027224
23.
DePrinceA. P.ZurbriggenE. L.ChuA. T.SmartL (2010). Development of the Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19, 275-299.
24.
DiClementeC. C.ProchaskaJ. O.FairhurstS.VelicerW. F.RossiJ. S.VelasquezM. (1991). The process of smoking cessation: An analysis of precontemplation, contemplation, and contemplation/action. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 295-304.
25.
EhlersA.ClarkD. M. (2000). A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 319-345.
26.
FaulF.ErdfelderE.LangA. G.BuchnerA. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175-191.
27.
Fiore LernerC.KennedyL. T. (2000). Stay-leave decision making in battered women: Trauma, coping, and self-efficacy. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 215-232.
28.
FoaE. B.CashmanL.JaycoxL.PerryK. (1997). The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment, 9, 445-451.
29.
FoaE. B.EhlersA.ClarkD. M.TolinD. F.OrsilloS. M. (1999). The Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI): Development and validation. Psychological Assessment, 11, 303-314.
30.
FrasierP. Y.SlattL.KowlowitzV.GlowaP. T. (2001). Using the stages of change model to counsel victims of intimate partner violence. Patient Education Counseling, 43, 211-217.
31.
FugateM.LandisL.RiordanK.NaureckasS.EngelB. (2005). Barriers to domestic violence help seeking: Implications for intervention. Violence Against Women, 11, 290-210.
32.
GielenA. C.McDonnellK. A.O’CampoP.BurkeJ. G. (2005). Suicide risk and mental health indicators: Do they differ by abuse and HIV status?Women’s Health Issues, 15, 89-95.
GilbertP. (2010). An introduction to compassion focused therapy in cognitive behavioral therapy. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 3, 97-112.
35.
GoodmanL.BennettL.DuttonM. A. (1999). Obstacles to victims’ cooperation with the criminal prosecution of their abusers: The role of social support. Violence and Victims, 14, 427-444.
36.
GriffinM. G.UhlmansiekM. H.ResickP. A.MechanicM. B. (2004). Comparison of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale versus the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale in domestic violence survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 497-503.
37.
HathawayJ. E.WillisG.ZimmerB. (2002). Listening to survivors’ voices: Addressing partner abuse in the health care setting. Violence Against Women, 8, 687-719.
38.
HollingsheadA. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
39.
Holtzworth-MunroeA.SmutzlerN.SandinE. (1997). A brief review of the research on husband violence. Part II: The psychological effects of husband violence on battered women and their children. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2, 179-213.
40.
JohnsonH.BungeV. P. (2001). Prevalence and consequences of spousal assault in Canada. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43, 27-45.
41.
KellerC.AllanJ.TinkleM. B. (2006). Stages of change, processes of change, and social support for exercise and weight gain in postpartum women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 35, 232-240.
42.
LaforgeR. G.MaddockJ. E.RossiJ. S. (1998). Comparison of five stage models for alcohol abuse among college students [Abstract]. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 20, 170.
43.
MarcusB. H.SelbyV. C.NiauraR. S.RossiJ. S. (1992). Self-efficacy and the stages of exercise behavior change. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 63, 60-66.
44.
MartinC. G.CromerL. D.DePrinceA. P.FreydJ. J. (2013). The role of cumulative trauma, betrayal, and appraisals in understanding trauma symptomatology. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 5, 110-118. doi:10.1037/a0025686
45.
McDonnellK. A.GielenA. C.O’CampoP.BurkeJ. (2005). Abuse, HIV status, and health related quality of life among a sample of HIV positive and HIV negative low income women. Quality of Life Research, 14, 945-957.
46.
MenardS. (1995). Applied logistic regression analysis (Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 7-106). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
O’CampoP.FogartyL.GielenA. C.ArmstrongK.BondL.GalavottiC.GreenB. M. (1999). Distribution along a stages-of-behavioral-change continuum for condom and contraceptive use among women accessed in different settings. Journal of Community Health, 24, 61-72.
48.
PapeK. T.AriasI. (2000). The role of perceptions and attributions in battered women’s intentions to permanently end their violent relationships. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 201-214.
49.
PerzC. A.DiClementeC. C.CarbonariJ. P. (1996). Doing the right thing at the right time? The interaction of stages and processes of change in successful smoking cessation. Health Psychology, 15, 462-468.
50.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C. (1982). Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrated model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 19, 276-288.
51.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C. (1983). Stages of processes of self-change of smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 390-395.
52.
ProchaskaJ. O.DiClementeC. C.NorcrossJ. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47, 1102-1114.
53.
ProchaskaJ. O.VelicerW. F.RossiJ. S.GoldsteinM. G.MarcusB. H.RakowskiW.. (1994). Stages of change and decisional balance for 12 problem behaviors. Health Psychology, 13, 39-46.
54.
ReganK. V.BartholomewK.KwongM. J.TrinkeS. J.HendersonA. J. Z. (2006). The relative severity of acts of physical violence in heterosexual relationships: An item response theory analysis. Personal Relationships, 13, 37-52.
55.
RennisonC. M. (2003, February). Intimate partner violence 1993-2001 (Bureau of Crime Statistics Brief). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
56.
RhatiganD. L.AxsomD. K. (2006). Using the investment model to understand battered women’s commitment to abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 21, 153-162.
57.
RhatiganD. L.StreetA. E. (2005). The impact of intimate partner violence on decisions to leave dating relationships: A test of the Investment Model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 1580-1597.
58.
RossiS. R.RossiJ. S.Rossi-DelPreteL. M.ProchaskaJ. O.BanspachS. W.CarletonR. A. (1994). A processes of change model for weight control for participants in community-based weight loss programs. International Journal of the Addictions, 29, 161-177.
59.
ShurmanL. A.RodriguezC. M. (2006). Cognitive-affective predictors of women’s readiness to end domestic violence relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1417-1439.
60.
StoverC. S. (2005). Domestic violence research: What have we learned and where do we go from here?Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 448-454.
61.
StrausM. A. (2007). Conflict Tactics Scales. In JacksonN. A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of domestic violence (pp. 190-197). New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
62.
StrausM. A.HambyS. L.Boney-McCoyS.SugarmanD. B. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2). Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283-316.
63.
StrubeM. J.BarbourL. S. (1983). The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Economic dependence and psychological commitment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 785-793.
64.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
65.
TjadenP.ThoennesN. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
66.
VelicerW. F.FavaJ. L.ProchaskaJ. O.AbramsD. B.EmmonsK. M.PierceJ. (1995). Distribution of smokers by stage in three representative samples. Preventive Medicine, 24, 401-411.
67.
WaldropA. E.ResickP. A. (2004). Coping among adult female victims of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 291-302.
68.
WalkerL. (1984). The battered woman syndrome. New York: Springer.
69.
YunS. H. (2011). Factor structure and reliability of the revised Conflict Tactics Scales’ (CTS2) 10-factor model in a community-based female sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 719-744.
70.
ZinkT.ElderN.JacobsonJ.KlostermannB. (2004). Medical management of intimate partner violence considering the stages of change: Precontemplation and contemplation. Annals of Family Medicine, 2, 231-239.
