The Roles of Coping and Social Support in Battered Women’s Mental Health

Abstract

Victims of interpersonal violence try many different strategies to reduce or eliminate threats to their physical safety and emotional well-being. However, little is known about the relationship between women’s coping strategies and their mental health. In what contexts do specific coping strategies improve mental health, and in what contexts are they harmful? This study investigated the role of social support—a critical contextual factor—as a moderator of the relationship between problem-focused coping, and post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among low-income, African American battered women. Problem-focused coping was associated with mental health symptoms only in women with lower levels of overall social support and in women whose closest supporters gave mixed advice or advice to stay with their partners, as opposed to clear advice to leave. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.