Psychological Abuse and Depressive Symptoms in ...

Journal of Family Violence, Vol 14, No. 3, 1999

Psychological Abuse and Depressive Symptoms in Dating Women: Do Different Types of Abuse Have Differential Effects? Jennifer Katz'-^ and Ileana

The purpose of the current study was to examine potential differential effects of two forms of psychological abuse, emotional/verbal and dominance/isolation, on women's depressive symptoms. It was expected that emotional/verbal abuse would have a direct impact on both concurrent and prospective depressive symptoms among dating women. In contrast, it was expected that the depressogenic effect of dominance/isolation abuse would be moderated by level of perceived interpersonal controi Women who perceived themselves to have high levels of interpersonal control were hypothesized to be less negatively affected by partner dominance/isolation behaviors than their low control counterparts. Although the effects of both types of abuse on concurrent depressive symptoms were relatively weak, more robust longitudinal effects were found. Emotional/ verbal abuse at Time I did not predict Time 2 depressive symptoms after controlling for depressive symptoms at Time I. In contrast, dominance/isolation abuse at Time I significantly predicted increases in depressive symptoms over time, and this effect was moderated by level of perceived interpersonal control in the expected direction. Implications for future research and clinical intervention/prevention efforts are discussed. KEY WORDS: psychological abuse; depression; interpersonal control; courtship.

INTRODUCTION Although physical and psychological abuse often co-occur, women in physically abusive relationships often report psychological abuse as having the more severe negative impact on their emotional well-being (FoUingstad 'Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163. ^Department of Psychology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 60601. To whom correspondence should be addressed. 281 Oa85-7482/99'0900-0281$16.00/0 €> 1999 Plenum Publishing CorporaUcMi

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et ai, 1990; Walker, 1984). Recent work suggests that increased risk for psychiatric symptoms associated with physical violence largely may be the result of concomitant psychological abuse. Orava et ai (1996) compared physically abused and nonabused women with regard to levels of depression, self-esteem, and personal power. They found that, after covarying out the effects of verbal abuse on these outcome variables, no between-group differences were maintained. Likewise, Arias and Pape (1999) found that physical abuse was not significantly related to battered women's psychological adjustment when the effects of psychological abuse were statistically controlled. On the other hand, psychological abuse was significantly related to adjustment after controlling for the effects of physical abuse. Thus, it appears that psychological abuse may be as detrimental, or more so than physical abuse. Accordingly, intervention programs for battered women may have to address the effects of their psychological victimization directly. Although the role of psychological abuse among battered women is being established, it is not clear to what extent psychological maUreatment exerts similar effects among nonbattered women. Arias (1995) found a similar pattern of consequences of psychological abuse among battered and nonbattered women. Others also have found that psychological abuse increases risk for depressive symptoms for women in the absence of physical abuse (Migeot and Lester, 1996; Vitanza et ai, 1995). This growing body of research suggests a need to further refine our understanding of the impact ofpsychological abuse in physically and nonphysically abusive relationships. Special focus on the effects of psychological abuse among nonbattered women may be warranted since the absence of physical abuse may lead to distinct needs and services for this subgroup of women. Attention to the effects of psychological abuse in intimate relationships is growing; however, many questions regarding risk and resiliency remain unanswered. The relative scarcity of research in this area may be due, in part, to problems in conceptualizing and defining psychological abuse. Many forms of psychological maltreatment have been described in the literature. For instance. Walker (1979) discussed jealousy, verbal harassment/criticism, and social isolation as types of psychological abuse that often characterized physically violent relationships. Extending this work, FoUingstad et ai (1990) described six types of psychological abuse: verbal harassment/criticism, isolation, jealousy/possessiveness, threat of harm to self, threat of harm to personal property, and threats about the relationship. They found Ihat verbal harassment/criticism, isolation, and jealousy/possessiveness were forms of psychological abuse endorsed most frequently within a sample of physically battered women. Other researchers have proposed additional typologies as well (e.g., Aguilar and Nightengale; 1994; PatrickHoffman, 1982). However, lack of consensus in defining and labeling differ-

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ent types of overt psychological maltreatment leads to a lack of integration of findings. In developing his measure of psychological maltreatment of women, Tolman (1989) drew upon the existing theory, clinical observations, and research about psychological abuse and its assessment. Exploratory factor analytic results suggested that two factors emerged from this scale. The first factor, dominance/isolation abuse, included items related to partners' demands for compliance/subservience, isolation from the personal and social resources, and observance of traditional gender roles. The second factor, emotional/verbal abuse, included items related to partners' devaluing, humiliation, and withholding of emotional support/affection. Tolman's Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (PMWI) was used for the purposes of the present study. Although previous research has not formally examined the differential effects of these two types of abuse on emotional outcomes, hypotheses about differential impact may be formulated. FoUingstad etal. (1990) found that ridicule (i.e., emotional/verbal abuse) was the type of abuse experienced by most women as the most destructive for emotional well-being. Emotional well-being was assessed using a composite index which included subjective reports of passivity, social isolation, fear of men, shame, and acceptance of responsibility for partner abusive behaviors. Therefore, it may be hypothesized that emotional/verbal abuse may be strongly and directly associated with depressive symptoms, even in the absence of physical abuse. Dominance/isolation abuse also may have depressogenic effects. Aguilar and Nightengale (1994) found that their measure of emotional/ controlling abuse (comprised of dominance/isolation behaviors, e.g., "told you who you could speak to; told you you could not work") had detrimental effects on women's self-esteem. Given the robust association between selfesteem and depressive symptoms, it was hypothesized that dominance/ isolation abuse also may be consequential for women's emotional wellbeing. However, it was expected that dominance/isolation abuse may have different effects on women who vary in terms of their perceived ability to exert control over the environment. This hypothesis was based upon both theoretical and empirical work about the importance of perceived control in understanding emotional outcomes. Perceived control may be defined as an individual's belief as to her ability to significantly impact social or environmental events. Perceived control over environmental contingencies is a key part of both the learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) and reformulated learned helplessness (Abramson etai 1978) models of depression. With regard to the original model applied to abusive relationships, women who perceive a lack of interper-

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sonal control may become relatively passive in their coping. In turn, passive coping may lead to relationship maintenance and further negative emotional consequences (Pape and Arias, 1995). The reformulated learned helplessness mode! also may be applied to this context, as women who attribute the cause of partner abusive behavior as due to internal, stable, and global factors may experience higher levels of learned helplessness (see also Strube, 1988). Consistent with this theoretical perspective, FoUingstad et ai (1990) found that women who believed that their partners were justified in their psychologically abusive behaviors experienced significantly worse emotional outcomes than women who believed partners were not justified in their abusive behavior. Other work relevant to the current paper has examined the effects of perceived control on emotional distress more directly. In one study of physically violent dating relationships, perceived control reduced distress among female victims (Pape and Arias, 1995). In an investigation of psychological abuse and emotional distress among battered women, perceived control did not moderate the effect of psychological abuse on well-being (Arias and Pape, 1999). However, a one-item scale specific to perceived controllability of partner violent behavior was used. To the extent that women are able to maintain their perceptions of general interpersonal control, women confronted with dominance/isolation abuse from partners may experience less emotional distress. Therefore, perceived interpersonal control may buffer the effect of dominance/isolation abuse on subsequent depressive symptoms.

Hypotheses The purpose of the current study was to examine the concurrent and prospective effects of partner psychological abuse, and types of psychological abuse, on depressive symptoms among women in dating relationships. Two types of overt partner psychologically abusive behaviors were examined: emotional/verbal abuse and dominance/isolation abuse (Tolman, 1989). We expected that emotional/verbal abuse would be directly associated with depressive symptoms at both Time 1 and Time 2. In contrast, we expected that dominance/isolation abuse would be predictive of depressive symptoms at both Time 1 and Time 2. but that this effect would be moderated by level of perceived interpersonal control. More specifically, it was expected that dominance/isolation abuse would predict depressive symptoms most strongly among women who perceived themselves to have lower levels of interpersonal control relative to women who perceived higher levels of interpersonal control.


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METHOD Participants

Dating women (N = 82) in heterosexual relationships of at least 1 month's duration were recruited from an undergraduate research pool at a large southeastern university.* The average age was 19 {SD = 1.15, range 17 to 22). The racial composition of the sample was divided among "Caucasian" (88%; n = 72), "African-American" (11%; n = 9), and "other" (1%; n = 1). Dating relationships lasted for 9 months on average {SD = 3.19, range 1 to >29 months). Participants received credit in partial fulfillment of an academic course research requirement.

Measures Beck Depression Inventory The BDI (BDI; Beck, 1967) is a 21-item self-report measure of depressive symptomatology. Each item is rated on a scale of 0 to 3 with possible scores ranging from 0 to 63. Higher scores indicate higher levels of emotional distress. Because of human subject concerns, the question concerning suicidal ideation was omitted. Although not a diagnostic instrument, the BDI has been demonstrated to be both reliable and valid among nonpsychiatric populations (for a review, see Beck et ai, 1988). In the current sample, Cronbach's alpha was calculated as .83 at Time 1 and .87 at Time 2.

Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory The PMWI (PMWI; Tolman, 1989) is a 58-item scale developed to assess the non-physical abuse of women by their male intimate partners. Two major types of psychological maltreatment are assessed: dominance/ *Approximalely M% (n = 13) of the women in the current sample reported that their current dating partner had engaged in at least some form of physical violence against them during the course of their relationship. The presence of physical violence was assessed by the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, 1979), and the modal form of physical violence endorsed was "pushed, grabbed, or shoved you." Because of the association between physical and psychological abuse, all analyses were conducted controlling for Ihe absolute level of physical abuse present in these relationships. An identical pattern of results was obtained, suggesting that the presence of physical abuse in women's relationships could not account for the pattern of findings obtained.

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isolation and emotional/verbal abuse. A representative item of the 26-item dominance/isolation subscale is "My partner restricted my telephone use," whereas a representative item of the 23-item emotional/verbal subscale is "My partner insulted me in front of others." Responses to each item are made on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = very frequently). Responses were summed, with higher scores indicative of more frequent and pervasive levels of psychological abuse perpetrated by male partners over the past 6 months. Adequate reliability and evidence for the internal factor structure are reported, as is evidence for construct validity. This measure was administered at Time 1. Cronbach's alphas for the dominance/isolation and emotional/verbal subscales were .87 and .86, respectively, suggesting adequate internal consistency.

Spheres of Control Scale The SOC (SOC-IP; Paulhus, 1983) assesses the areas in which a person perceives control over life events. It consists of three subscales: personal control, interpersonal control, and social control. The Interpersonal Control (IP) subscale, designed to assess perceived interpersonal competence, was employed in this study. A representative item from this subscale is "If I need help carrying off a plan of mine, it's usually difficult to get others to help (reverse-coded)." Each subscale consists of 10 true/false items. Convergent and discriminant validity have been established (Paulhus, 1983). In the current study, Cronbach's alpha was calculated as .75.

Procedure

Undergraduate women provided informed consent and then completed the battery of assessments described above. Testing was completed in a small group format. After testing, participants were fully debriefed and an experimenter was available to answer any questions. All participants were invited to participate in an optional follow-up session approximately 6 weeks following the initial testing session to earn additional research credit. Approximately one half of the original sample returned for the follow-up session {n = 44) to complete a brief battery of assessments, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). One-way analyses of variance (ANO VAs) suggested that women who participated in the follow-up session did not differ from other women on any demographic or study variables of interest.


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RESULTS Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations among all study variables of interest are reported in Table I. Women reported generally low levels of both dominance/isolation and emotional/verbal psychological abuse from partners. The average level of perceived interpersonal control was relatively high. Although variable, the average level of depressive symptoms was low at both Time 1 and Time 2. At a zero-order level, both dominance/isolation and emotional/verbal psychological abuse were significantly related to depressive symptoms at both Time 1 and Time 2. The association between dominance/isolation abuse and depressive symptoms appeared to be stronger over time. That is, the magnitude of the correlation between Time 1 dominance/isolation and Time 1 depressive symptoms was significantly smaller than the magnitude of the correlation between Time 1 dominance/isolation and Time 2 depressive symptoms, /(41) = 3.14, p < .01. In contrast, the magnitude of the correlation between Time 1 emotional/verbal abuse and Time 1 depressive symptoms did not significantly differ from the correlation between Time 1 emotional/verbal abuse and Time 2 depressive symptoms, /(41) = 1.20, ns. Interestingly, perceived interpersonal control was not associated with either type of psychological abuse or with depressive symptoms at a zero-order level. Concurrent Effects of Psychological Abuse and Interpersonal Control on Dysphoria Hierarchical multiple regression equations were calculated to examine the effects of psychological abuse and perceived interpersonal controi as Table I. Descriptive Statistics and Zero-Order Correlations Among All Study Variables 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Dominance/isolation abuse Emotional/verbal abuse Interpersonal control Depression (Tl) Depression (T2)

Mean SD Range

2

3

— 77*** -.07 .23** .61***

—. -.10 .26* .41**

— -.05 -.11

30.23 4.39 26-56

29.83 6.29 23-54

5.03 0.84 2.8-6.7

4

5

.53*** 5.58 5.08 0-28

4.48 5.00 0-24

Note. Time 1 n = 82; Time 2 « = 44; Time 2 data was collected approximately 6 weeks after Time 1. V < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

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assessed at Time 1 on concurrent depressive symptoms. In a first step, depressive symptoms was regressed on both psychological abuse and perceived interpersonal control. In a second step, the psychological abuse X interpersonal control interaction term was added to the model. To reduce potential problems with multicolinearity, the interaction term was created from the product of the centered main effect variables. This centering procedure reduces potential problems with linear dependence among predictor variables (Aiken and West, 1991). Separate equations were calculated to examine emotional/verbal and dominance/isolation abuse separately.

Emotional/Verbal Abuse In the first step, emotional/verbal abuse, 13 = .25, p < .05, but not perceived interpersonal control, /3 = -.02, ns, predicted concurrent depressive symptoms [full model: F{2,79) = 2.89, p = .06, adjusted R^ = .05]. In the second step, the emotional/verbal abuse X interpersonal control interaction was not significant, /3 = -.15, ns [full model: F(3,78) = 2.54, p = .06, adjusted R^ = .05].

Dominance/Isolation Abuse Contrary to expectations, neither of the hierarchical regression models in which depressive symptoms was regressed on dominance/isolation abuse and interpersonal control were statistically significant. In the first step, dominance/isolation, (i = .23, p < .05, but not interpersonal control, ^ -.03, ns, predicted concurrent depressive symptoms [full model: F(2,79) = 2.23, p = .11, adjusted R^ = .03]. In the second step, the dominance/isolation X interpersonal control interaction was not significant, /3 - -.15, ns [full model: f(3,78) - 2.09, p = .11, adjusted R^ = .04]. Taken together, cross-sectional findings suggest that neither type of psychological abuse examined is strongly related to concurrent depressive symptoms when simultaneously controlling for perceived interpersonal control. Furthermore, perceived interpersonal control did not moderate the effect of either type of psychological abuse on concurrent depressive symptoms. Some evidence of differential impact was obtained, however. Whereas a strong trend emerged with regard to the significance of emotional/verbal abuse on concurrent depression, dominance/isolation abuse did not predict concurrent depression.


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Prospective Effects of Psychological Abuse and Interpersonal Control on Future Dysphoria

As before, hierarchical multiple regression equations were calculated to test the effects of psychological abuse and interpersonal control as assessed at Time 1 on depressive symptoms at Time 2. In a first step. Time 2 depressive symptoms were regressed on Time 1 depressive symptoms to control for initial level of depression. In a second step, psychological abuse and perceived interpersonal control were added to the model as main effects. In a third and final step, a psychological abuse x interpersonal control interaction term was added to the model. As before, the interaction term was calculated as the product of the two centered component variables.

Emotional/Verbal Abuse Results of analyses examining emotional/verbal abuse are recorded in Table II. After controlling for Time 1 depressive symptoms in the first step, emotional/verbal abuse did not significantly predict Time 2 depressive symptoms in the second step, ^ = .20, ns. Furthermore, perceived interpersonal control did not predict Time 2 depressive symptoms as either a main effect, /3 = -.03, ns, or in interaction with emotional/verbal abuse, ^ = — .25, ns.

Table II. Tl Emotional/Verbal Abuse. Tl Perceived Interpersonal Control, and their Interaction as Predictors of Increases in Depressive Symptoms from Tl Io T2 Order of Entry in Model 1. 2. 3.

Predictors Control variable Depression (Tl) Main effects Emotional/verbal abuse Interpersonal control Two-way interaction Emotional/verbal abuse x interpersonal control

F for Set

t for Within-Set Predictors

Partial Correlation

16.14

R' for set .26***

4.02***

.52

5.96

.26*** 1.30** -0.26

.20 -.03

5.31

.28*** -1.63

-.25

Note: n = 44; Tl = initial data collection; T2 = follow-up data collected approximately 6 weeks after Time I. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

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Dominance/Isolation Abuse Results of the hierarchical regression procedures examining dominance/isolation are recorded in Table III. After controlling for Time 1 depressive symptoms in the first step, dominance/ isolation abuse significantly predicted Time 2 depressive symptoms in the second, step j8 = .46, p < .01. This suggested that dominance/isolation abuse significantly predicted increases in depressive symptoms over time. Furthermore, although the main effect of perceived interpersonal control did not predict increases in depressive symptoms, 13 = -.05, ns, a significant dominance/ isolation x interpersonal control interaction effect emerged in the third step,/3 = -.30, p < .05. To explicate this significant interaction, groups of women who perceived themselves has having relatively high {n = 21) and low {n = 23) levels of interpersonal control were created using a median split of the control variable. Within each group, women's Time 2 depression was regressed on both Time 1 depression and dominance/isolation abuse. Predicted values for women's Time 2 depression scores as a function of dominance/isolation abuse levels were generated. High and low levels of dominance/isolation scores were indexed by adding and subtracting 1 SD from the mean, respectively. An intermediate level of dominance/isolation was indexed using the mean level for the sample. Dominance/isolation abuse, 0 ^ .67,p < .02, but not Time 1 depression, (3 ^ —.01, ns, predicted Time 2 depressive symptoms among women who perceived themselves to have low levels of interpersonal control [full model: F{2,20) = 7.96,p < .01, adjusted R^ = .39]. The opposite pattern of findings

Table III. Tl Dominance/Isolation Abuse, Tl Perceived Interpersonal Control, and Their [nteraction as Predictors of Increases in Depressive Symptoms from Tl to T2 Order of Entry in Model 1.

2. 3.

/ for R' Partial Within-Set Correlation for Set for Set Predictors (^) F

Predictors Control variable Depression (Tl) Main effects Dominance/isolation abuse Interpersonal control Two-way interaction Dominance/isolation abuse X interpersonal control

16.14

.26*** 4.02*'*

.52

9.20

.40*** 2.90** -0.44

.46

-.05

8.87

48*.* -2.25*

-.30

Note: rt - 44; Tl = initial data collection; T2 = follow-up data collected approximately 6 weeks after Time I. *p < .05; **p < .01; **'p < .001.

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was obtained within the group of women who reported higher levels of perceived interpersonal control. Time 1 depression,/3 = .69,p< .01, but not dominance/isolation abuse, (3 = .06, ns, was predictive of Time 2 depressive symptoms among women with higher levels of interpersonal control [full model: F(2,18) - 9.88, p < .01, adjusted R' - .47J. Predicted values for Time 2 depressive symptoms scores were generated within groups of women who perceived themselves to have high versus low interpersonal control. Results are depicted graphically in Fig. 1. Among women with low interpersonal control, the predicted values for Time 2 depression differed as a linear function of Time 1 dominance/isolation abuse. As levels of dominance/isolation abuse increased. Time 2 depressive symptoms increased as well. In contrast, among women with high interpersonal control, levels of depressive symptoms were relatively low across levels of Time 1 dominance/isolation abuse.

DISCUSSION Differential effects of two forms of psychological abuse on depressive symptoms were investigated within a sample of dating women. It was hypothesized that partner psychological abuse behaviors would increase wom-

Low High Percalved Interpersonal Control Dominance/Isolation Abuse I

I

Low

I

I

Moderate

^H

High

Fig. 1. Perceived control moderates the association between dominance/isolation abuse and increased depression.

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en's risk for depressive symptoms. Two different types of psychological abuse were investigated (emotional/verbal versus dominance/isolation abuse), and hypotheses concerned with differential effects of each type of abuse were partially supported. At a zero-order level, each type of abuse was significantly associated with depressive symptoms assessed at both Time 1 and Time 2. Crosssectional results changed when interpersonal control was simultaneously considered. Specifically, the effect of emotional/verbal abuse on depressive symptoms emerged most strongly in the cross-sectional analyses. In contrast, the effect of dominance/isolation abuse on depressive symptoms significantly increased in magnitude over time and emerged as significant only within longitudinal analyses. Partial support for our moderating hypothesis also was obtained. Although moderating effects did not emerge in cross-sectional analyses, perceived interpersonal control moderated the prospective effect of Time 1 dominance/isolation abuse on Time 2 depression. Reports of partner dominance/isolation at Time 1 predicted increases in depressive symptoms only among women who endorsed lower levels of perceived interpersonal control at Time 1. Women who endorsed higher levels of perceived interpersonal control did not appear to be at significant risk for increased depression as a function of partner dominance/isolation abuse. These results are consistent with previous research documenting risk for depressive symptoms as a function of psychological abuse (Migeot and Lester, 1996; Orava et ai, 1996; Vitanza et ai, 1995). These findings help to refine this growing body of research by specifying the differential impact of emotional/verbal versus dominance/isolation abuse may have on women's emotional well-being. Whereas the impact of emotional/verbal abuse may be most salient in the short term, dominance/isolation abuse may be most consequential for emotional well-being over time. However, these latter effects may be attenuated by levels of perceived interpersonal control. Current results indicate that the maintenance of perceived control may represent an important buffer against the otherwise depressogenic effects of dominance/isolation abuse. In the current study, perceived interpersonal control was assessed at a general level, as opposed to control specifically over partner psychological abuse (Arias and Pape, 1999). Interestingly, it is unlikely that most women actually can exert control over partner abusive behavior, and this is consistent with work suggesting that perceptions of control may be orthogonal to one's actual ability to exert control on environmental events (e.g.. Burger, 1989). It should be noted that, although perceived interpersonal control may be important in buffering against depressive symptoms, there may be negative consequences with regard to relationship maintenance. Women who


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experience less distress as a result of partner abuse may be more tolerant of abusive partner behaviors and thus more likely to maintain their involvement in psychologically abusive relationships. One way in which women in abusive relationships may maintain high levels of perceived interpersonal control may be via self-attributions for partner behavior, which have been linked to increased tolerance for partner aggression (Katz et ai, 1997). Unfortunately, increased exposure to partner dominance/isolation behaviors may lead to less favorable self-perceptions (e.g., Aguilar and Nightengale, 1994), and perceptions of interpersonal control may be destroyed. Taken together with the broader literature, it may be speculated that a moderate level of perceived interpersonal control may be ideal in terms of both individual and relationship outcomes. Women with moderate levels of control may be relatively buffered from depressive symptoms, but also may be distressed enough by partner abuse to consider relationship dissolution should their partners continue to behave in psychologically abusive ways. Understanding factors that may link psychological abuse with depressive symptoms may inform the development of programs designed to empower women should they become the targets of partner abuse in the future. Because of the prevalence of both physical and nonphysical aggression in both marriage and courtship, prevention programs that address potential responses to abusive partner behavior are needed. Such programs could involve communication skills training, conflict resolution strategies, and assertiveness skills. Didactic information could be presented about the prevalence of relationship violence, its propensity to escalate in frequency and severity over time, and the negative short and iong-term effects of abuse on the self. Currentfindingssuggest that women who tend to perceive themselves as having high levels of interpersonal control may be less emotionally distressed by partner abuse. This may be due to either self-attributions or to feelings of efficacy regarding relationship dissolution. Self-attributional styles also could be discussed in terms of emphasizing women's own responsibility and control over their own behaviors and lack of responsibility/control for the behaviors of others. This work would also reinforce the notion that women do not control their partners' violent behaviors, although they may be powerful forces in terms of shaping their social environments. Caveats relating to the current investigation should be noted. The external validity of thesefindingsmay be limited by the nature and composition of the sample. Data were collected from undergraduate dating women, and it is unclear whether currentfindingsmay be generalized to other types of dyads, including married, cohabiting, parent-child, and friendship pairs. Future study of individuals from more diverse socioeconomic and ethnic

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backgrounds appears warranted. Finally, although data are consistent with a causal model, causal conclusions cannot be made on the basis of correlational research. In conclusion, it appears that different types of psychological abuse may have differential effects on women's emotional well-being. Future research examining similarities and differences among types of psychological abuse and their effects on abuse recipients is needed. The role of interpersonal control also appears to warrant further study. Investigating additional moderators may be useful as well. Such empirical efforts may help to elucidate conditions under which women are more or less resilient when confronted with psychological abuse and may guide both treatment and prevention efforts.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT We gratefully acknowledge Deborah Jones for her assistance with data collection.

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