Predictors of Depression in Battered Women

Abstract

The sample for this study consisted of 164 women recruited from newspaper advertisements and bulletin board postings asking for volunteers with serious problems in intimate relationships with men. Women were screened for battering using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Of 164 battered women, 28% were moderately to severely depressed and 11% were severely depressed on the Beck Depression Inventory. Significant predictors of depression (accounting for 44% of variance) by multivariate analysis were childhood physical abuse, self-care agency, physical abuse by partner, and daily hassles. In addition to these analyses, the influence of self in relationship on depression was examined. The findings from this study suggest that physical abuse is an important part of the etiology of depression in battered women and that the abuse in combination with daily hassles supports a stress explanation of depression, with a woman's ability to take care of herself a protective factor.