Abstract
The study assessed depression and self-esteem in 23 lesbians and 17 heterosexual women who had experienced battering in intimate relationships. Indexes of psychological and physical abuse were used to predict psychological symptoms. Hierarchical regression was used to examine the hypothesis that depression and self-esteem would be predicted by nonphysical and physical abuse, but not by the batterer's gender. After demographic variables were controlled, nonphysical abuse predicted self-esteem and physical abuse predicted depression. The gender of batterer was not a significant predictor of either self-esteem or depression. Limitations and implications of the study are presented.
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