Intimate Partner Violence and Resilience: The Experience of Women in Mother-Child Assisted Living Centers

Abstract

Research has largely documented the damaging consequences of intimate partner violence. However, the literature presents an important gap in the identification of factors that may strengthen resilience in the victims, especially in the case of mothers and pregnant women. The present study aimed at investigating the experience of abused mothers engaged in an educative path in a Mother–Child Assisted Living Center. A qualitative descriptive methodology was used. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of eight women. Four main themes emerged from the interviews: (1) improvement in the mother–child relationship; (2) a process of personal change during the educative path; (3) the rebuilding of trust relationships; and (4) attitudes and hopes toward the future. Taken together, these findings highlight the process of resilience, conceived from a socioecological perspective as the ability to use resources rooted in interconnected systems. The implications of these findings are discussed.