Factors Associated With Battered Filipino Women’s Decision to Stay in or Leave an Abusive Relationship

Abstract

There is a dearth of research on battered Filipino women’s stay or leave decision-making process. The present study interviewed 40 battered women in the Philippines to explore factors associated with their decisions to stay or leave their husbands or partners. Results revealed that (a) battered women’s decision to stay was associated with intrapersonal and interpersonal factors such as personality characteristics, lack of personal resources, absence of social support, presence of children, length of relationship, and sociocultural factors and (b) battered women’s decision to leave their abusive partners was associated with factors such as personality characteristics, personal resources, social support, nature of abuse, and spousal factors. Implications for research and practice were discussed.