Findings suggest the need to consider gender differences and long-term adverse health consequences in the development of intervention strategies to address physical abuse in childhood.

This study examined the role of social support in the partner violence-psychological distress relation in a sample of African American women seeking medical care at a large, urban hospital (n = 138). Results from bivariate correlational analyses revealed that partner violence was related to lower perceived social support and greater psychological distress, and lower social support was related to more distress. Furthermore, findings based on path analysis indicated that low levels of social support helped account for battered women's increased distress. Findings point to the need for service providers to screen for partner violence in nontraditional sites, such as hospital emergency rooms, and to address the role of social support resources in preventive interventions with African American battered women.

The authors discuss study implications for campus-based prevention strategies.

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