Traumatic responses among battered women who kill

Abstract

This study compared levels of violence, social support, and post-traumatic stress between battered women charged with a violent crime against an abusive partner and those seeking help from a mental health clinic. Results indicated that forensic battered women were more likely than clinical battered women to report experiencing severe violence, including sexual abuse, in their relationships. Women in the forensic sample also reported less social support and greater post-traumatic stress than women in the clinical sample. However, when social support and level of violence were accounted for, levels of general post-traumatic stress indicators (MMPI-PTSD, CR-PTSD, GSI) were no longer different between groups, although levels of specific post-traumatic stress indicators (intrusion, avoidance) remained higher for battered women in the forensic sample. Implications for understanding battered women's response to violence and their post-traumatic reactions to it are discussed.

Predictors of mental distress and poor physical health among homeless women

“…Social support has been shown to be important for health and quality of life (Friedland, Renwick, & McColl, 1996;Gielen et al, 2001) and, based on this study's findings, greater social support appeared to protect against experiencing further violence. Previous research has shown that social support may be important in reducing the risk of experiencing violence by helping women end abusive relationships (Bowker, 1984;O'Campo et al, 2002;Ulrich, 1998) and conferring protection or serving as a buffer against ongoing abuse (Dutton et al, 1994). A recent study of women in university clinic settings indicates that social and emotional support may enhance psychological well-being among women who have experienced physical violence from their partners, and that informal support including expressions of caring and encouragement from family, friends, and clinicians is beneficial (Coker et al, 2003).…”

“…Although women in battering relationships do not routinely view the social support they receive with satisfaction (El-Bassel et al, 2000), in a study of 390 low-income women in Baltimore who experienced physical or sexual violence during adulthood, family and friends were identified as the typical source of help when attempting to leave a violent relationship (O'Campo et al, 2002). Beneficial social relationships may additionally reduce risk of victimization by conferring protection in a harsh environment (Dutton et al, 1994).…”

A general strain theory of intimate partner homicide

“…2 The buffering effects of social support on stress in general, and on mental and physical health problems among abused women especially, have long been recognized in research (see Cohen & Wills, 1985;Coker et al, 2002). Applied to IPH, research by Dutton, Hohnecker, Halle, and Burghardt (1994) shows that women charged with attempted or actual homicide of their abusive partner experienced less perceived social support prior to the homicide than a control sample of abused women seeking mental health treatment.…”

Between Rigidity and Chaos

“…Women's forgetfulness was framed using clinical terms such as posttraumatic stress disorder, denial, and repression (e.g., M. A. Dutton, Hohnecker, Halle, & Burghardt, 1994;Harvey & Martin, 1995), explaining those phenomena as serving a protective function for the "victim." Regarding men, on the other hand, the denial or minimization of violence has been explained as the need to detract from the consequences of the violent act and as attempts to construct a positive and normative self-image (e.g., Helfritz et al, 2006;Holtzworth-Munroe & Hutchinson, 1993;Miller, 1995).…”