Court-Involved Battered Women’s Responses to Violence: The Role of Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Failure to understand the importance of psychological abuse as a component of domestic violence can result in little appreciation for the complexity of victims’ experience and thus a failure to provide the most effective intervention. This study examined the role of psychological abuse, physical violence, injury, and sexual abuse in predicting court-involved women’s (1) prior attempts to seek help from the justice system and to leave the battering relationship, (2) use of criminal prosecution and civil protection orders, and (3) traumatic stress reactions. At the univariate level, each abuse variable was significantly associated with at least one strategic response and all traumatic responses to violence. Multivariate analyses revealed that strategic responses were largely predicted by injury and physical assault, whereas traumatic responses were mainly predicted by psychological abuse. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the important role of both physical and psychological abuse in shaping women’s responses to domestic violence.