Pathways to Disenchantment

Abstract

Some evidence in the literature indicated that contact between social workers and battered women is marked by divergent perceptions of the problem and definitions of the situation. The present study analyzed the interaction between social workers and battered women as perceived by the latter. Forty in-depth interviews were conducted with battered women living with their batterers. The content analysis of the interviews yielded two major paths of interaction that converged around a sense of disenchantment: The first was related to social workers' perceived avoidance to handle directly the violence or its consequences, labeled here as disenchantment through avoidance; the second was related to what the women interpreted as social workers' attempts to change, reframe, or distort their definition of the situation—labeled here as disenchantment through action. The major themes constituting each of the two paths are discussed and illustrated. Implications for practice are suggested.