The Radiating Impact of Intimate Partner Violence - SAGE Journals

JOURNAL Riger et al. /OF RADIATING INTERPERSONAL IMPACT VIOLENCE / February 2002 Many studies of violence against women focus on the impact of abuse on the victim’s emotional and physical well-being. Here the authors expand the conceptualization of the impact of violence to include other aspects of the victim’s life as well as the lives of those in her social world. Analyses of life narrative interviews with women 1 year after their stay in battered women’s shelters indicates that violence affects not only women who are abused but also those who are not directly victimized yet who nonetheless suffer consequences of violence. The authors discuss the implications of this conceptualization of violence for both research and policy.

The Radiating Impact of Intimate Partner Violence STEPHANIE RIGER University of Illinois at Chicago

SHEELA RAJA Hines VA Medical Center

JENNIFER CAMACHO University of Illinois at Chicago

The devastating impact on women of violence by intimate partners has been well documented in recent years. Not only injury, chronic health problems, and mental health problems but also increased risk of poverty, divorce, and unemployment may follow victimization (Browne, Salomon, & Bassuk, 1999; Byrne, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Best, & Saunders, 1999; Dutton, Haywood, & El-Bayoumi, 1997; Koss et al., 1994; Sutherland, Bybee, & Sullivan, 1998). Most discussions of the impact of intimate partner violence focus on the woman who is victimized. However, violence has a radiating affect, damaging not only the woman herself but also transforming the lives of people who are connected to her. That is, violence has not only first-order (i.e., direct) effects on the woman herself but also second- and third-order effects on her and those around her. By first-order effects, we refer to the effects of intimate Authors’ Note: This work was supported in part by the Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago. We are grateful to Dan A. Lewis, Larry Bennett, Lisa Frohmann, Rebecca Campbell, anonymous reviewers for comments, and April Howard for help in manuscript preparation. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Stephanie Riger, Department of Psychology, (M/C 285), 1062 Behavioral Sciences Building, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607-7137; e-mail: [email protected]. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, Vol. 17 No. 2, February 2002 184-205 © 2002 Sage Publications

184

Riger et al. / RADIATING IMPACT

185

violence on a woman’s physical and mental health and well-being. By secondorder effects, we refer to the impact on a woman’s ability to function in her physical and social environment (e.g., to work or go to school, to form or maintain relationships). By third-order effects, we refer to changes wrought by violence on people who are not directly victimized but who nonetheless are affected by the violence. For example, a grandmother might raise her grandchildren because of the devastating impact of violence on the mother’s life. Changes in the grandmother’s life as a result of violence against her daughter are third-order effects. Only by considering all of these levels will we understand the full impact of abuse. Note, however, that these levels are not independent phenomena. Rather, they may be conceptualized as nested domains, each linked to the other. For example, physical injuries or depression (first-order effects) make it difficult for a woman to pursue educational or career goals (second-order effects). Low self-esteem, depression, and fear (first-order effects) affect a woman’s relationships with her family and children (second-order effects). A woman’s difficulty in finding stable housing (second-order effect) may cause others in her family to assume temporary custody of her children (third-order effect). In understanding the impact of battering, therefore, we must consider the contexts of women’s lives and the web of relationships in which they exist. In addition to harming her, violence against a woman may change the lives of many others in her social network, even those not directly victimized by the abuser. Background Literature Violence may affect the health and well-being of the victim; it may also affect other people in her social world. We adopt an ecological approach to examine the extended impact of abuse on women’s lives and the lives of those linked to them. The interdependence of individuals, and the interconnectedness among people and other elements in settings such as work organizations, is a hallmark of an ecological perspective (Kelly, 1966, 1968, 1971; Trickett, Kelly, & Vincent, 1985). Carlson (1984) applied Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological framework to assess multiple elements at the individual, family, social structural, and sociocultural levels that cause domestic violence. Here we apply ecological constructs to understand the consequences of domestic violence. As Dutton (1996) asserted, a woman’s experience is shaped not only by a batterer’s behavior but also by the resources available to her, the way those in her social network respond, and by other contextual (as well as individual) factors. Both macro-level phenomena, such as fluctuations in the economy, and micro-level events, such as divorce or job loss, affect the

186

JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE / February 2002

course of violence. Moreover, the ecological perspective leads one to consider reciprocal influence and therefore to see women as agents attempting to cope with abuse, not only as recipients of environmental influences. Kelly and his colleagues (Kelly, 1966, 1968, 1971; Trickett, Kelly, & Vincent, 1985) use principles from biological ecology to serve as heuristics for understanding human communities. Perhaps the most useful principle as applied to the consequences of domestic violence is that of interdependence. The components of a social system are interrelated; events that affect any one component ripple throughout a system to affect other components as well. In understanding the consequences of violence, therefore, we seek to assess how violence affects not only the individual survivor but also others in her social network. A variety of people, from friends to family and professional helpers, may provide support to women. African American women may be especially likely to turn to family members for support (Compton, Michael, Krasavage-Hopkins, Schneiderman, & Bickman, 1989). But a female friend may also be a key provider of support (Rose, Campbell, & Kub, 2000) and in turn may be affected by violence. An ecological perspective widens the focus of attention beyond individual physical and mental well-being to consider the system-wide consequences of violence. For example, families and friends may incur risk when they offer support or housing to someone with an abusive partner. In addition to an increased awareness and fear of violent crime (Crowell & Burgess, 1996), family members may be subject to harassment, threats, and, in some cases, physical danger from the batterer (American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996). Batterers appear to expend great effort to find their former partners once they have left an abusive relationship. Browne (1987) reported that batterers often call the woman’s friends and coworkers in an attempt to find her. Qualitative interviews with women with abusive partners revealed that some extended families may fear for their own safety. Once batterers become familiar with the location of women’s relatives, they may no longer be able (or willing) to provide a safe haven (Angless, Maconachie, & Zyl, 1998). Indeed, some women may not seek support from family members because they fear for the safety of others (Mills, 1985). Furthermore, other elements in a woman’s environment, such as her work setting, her neighborhood, or her children’s schools, may be affected by violence because of their links to her. If we are to understand violence and develop effective policies to reduce and prevent it, then we must do so with a comprehension of the full range of people and experiences affected by it. We use a life narrative method to understand the impact of violence. Such a method captures in an autobiographical narrative how individuals make


187

sense of themselves and their experiences (Bruner, 1987; Josselson & Lieblich, 1999; Rosenwald, 1996; Wyche, 1999). Moreover, it permits an understanding of the way that social context affects and is affected by the individual. Lewis and Maruna (1999) argued that perceiving the subjective experience of those who are the targets of social intervention is crucial to comprehending social policy success and failure: “If we understand how individuals understand their own lives, we will be in a better position to explain why, when, and how various policies will be effective with different populations” (p. 231). Therefore, we use qualitative methods to capture women’s perspectives, in their own words, of the impact of violence Here we present the three levels of the impact of violence, based on interviews with women 1 year after they left a domestic violence shelter, and discuss subcategories within each level. We then consider both research and policy implications of this extended conceptualization of violence.

METHOD

Participants Fifty-seven women living in three urban domestic violence shelters were interviewed in 1997 for a study of obstacles to work/education. Shelter staff informed all residents of the research project, recruited participants, and then gave the names of interested women to the researchers, who conducted the interviews in person at the shelters. These women were generally representative of the shelter population from which they were drawn (see Riger, Ahrens, & Blickenstaff, 2000, for details). At the end of this interview, women were asked if they would be willing to be interviewed a second time after a year. In 1998, researchers attempted to locate the women who had consented to be interviewed a second time. Those who leave shelters may move frequently because they have few housing resources, making them difficult to find. They may also be attempting to conceal their location from their abuser. For these reasons, and because of the lack of resources to track the women, only 15 of the 57 women were located. These 15 women, who participated in a second in-person interview, constitute the sample for this study. These interviews lasted about an hour (participants were paid $20 for their time) and took place either in respondents’ homes or in university offices, at the choice of the respondent. Table 1 compares the original sample of 57 women with the 15 women who were interviewed after 1 year. Those women interviewed a second time

188


were similar for the most part to those in the original sample; none of the differences between women in the original sample and those interviewed a second time were statistically significant. The 15 women interviewed for this study at Time 2 ranged in age from 19 to 38 years, with a mean age of about 30 years. Approximately 83% of the women interviewed were not married to the abuser, 75% of the women were African American, and about 67% had at least a high school diploma. Ninety-four percent of the women had children ranging in age from 2 to 9 years living with them. The women’s monthly household income ranged from less than $100 to more than $2,000, with a median income of $638. The low-income levels of women in this sample raise the possibility that some of the problems that they encounter may be due to poverty as well as (or instead of) abuse; this must be considered when examining the data. Data Collection A life narrative interview asks about individuals’life history to assess how individuals make sense of themselves and their experiences (Josselson & Lieblich, 1999; Rosenwald, 1996). Narrative analysis is especially useful when attempting to decipher painful experiences such as abuse because it accepts the interpretation that occurs between narrator and listener (Mishler, 1986). Furthermore, allowing a woman to retell her story allows her “to name the abuse, to interpret it as oppression, to reexperience her anger, and to make the transition from victim to survivor” (Reissman, 1994, p. 114). Our interview was scripted but allowed interviewers to adopt appropriate probes; it began with the general question, “Tell me what your life has been like in the past year. Start with where you went to live when you left the shelter.” This question was asked to encourage women to express their stories in their own words and to respond unhindered as much as possible by guidance from interview questions. However, if necessary, interviewers used probes to encourage women to talk about specific aspects of their lives. These probes fell into several categories, such as the Living Situation Probes category, which included, among others, the following questions: “Why did you leave the shelter? How did you find your housing? How many times have you moved since then? Where do you live now? How is this working out for you financially?” Additional probes covered other aspects of women’s lives, such as work history, child care, transportation, and abuse, and were used if the woman interviewed did not mention these spontaneously. All interviews were transcribed.


189

TABLE 1: Demographic Characteristics of Women Interviewed at Time 1 and Time 2 Sample Variable Marital Status Married once Not married Race African American Other a Age (years) Mean Education Less than high school diploma High school diploma and above b Monthly income Median Dependent children Women with dependent children Average age of children (years)

Time 1 (n = 57)

Time 2 (n = 15)

16% 82%

17% 83%

80% 20%

75% 25%

31

30

42% 58%

33% 67%

$516 74% 5.5

$638 94% 5.9

a. Ages ranged from 18 to 47 years for Time 1 and from 19 to 38 for Time 2. b. Monthly incomes ranged from $0 to $2,917 for Time 1 and from $100 to $2,817 for Time 2.

Data Analysis There are many ways to analyze qualitative data (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). We chose to use selective coding to identify a main theme and subsidiary themes in the lives of women with abusive partners. Strauss and Corbin (1990) defined selective coding as the process of selecting the core coding category, systematically relating it to other categories, validating those relationships, and filling in categories that need further refinement and development. Although Strauss and Corbin’s method is presented in the context of the development of grounded theory, it is useful also as a strategy for analyzing life narrative data. Strauss and Corbin present the purpose of selective coding as “getting the story straight, developing a clear story line, and translating these into an analytic story” (p. 142), all of which serve the purpose of life narrative analysis. After the first iteration of coding, the core category was determined to be the pervasive effect of violence on the lives of survivors. We then examined how the codes identified in the initial iteration related to this core category. In a second iteration, three independent coders identified general subsidiary

190


codes. Use of independent coders permits verification of themes that emerge in the data (Cohen, 1960). Components of the data were classified into subsidiary codes because they each represent a facet of the survivor’s life affected by violence, either directly or indirectly. The codes identified included the following: relationships with the abuser, relationships with other men, relationships with their children and the impact of violence on those children, physical health, emotional health, the effect of abuse on their relationships with family members, employment, education, self-esteem, and goals. Data that were not appropriate for subsidiary codes were not included in the results. Such data were excluded because they were not directly related to the abusive relationship and hence did not demonstrate the pervasive nature of domestic violence. For example, 1 woman spoke of a cyst that needed to be removed from her arm. The cyst was not related to battering and therefore was not included in the data analysis. However, if a woman spoke of pain in her arm because her arm had been broken by her batterer, this was considered a subsidiary code as it was related to abuse. During the third and fourth iterations of coding, two coders identified the first-, second-, and third-order effects of violence. Data was considered to be representative of a first-order effect of violence if it had a direct impact on the women herself and not on any other person. Second-order effects are those that affect the woman’s interaction with others. Third-order effects are those that affect the people in a woman’s social network without her being present. Both coders scored all 15 interviews individually and then together. There was no disagreement between coders about identifying the first-order effect of violence. During the third coding iteration, however, there were some differences in coding second- and third-order effects. Peer briefing, a technique described by Lincoln and Guba (1985), was used to reconcile these disagreements. Peer briefing involves extensive discussion of each point of contention with other members of the research team. Each divergence in coding was identified and considered. Through this process, codes were clarified and inconsistencies were reconciled.

RESULTS

Figure 1 illustrates the radiating effects of violence that emerged in our data. First-order effects (i.e., direct effects on a woman) are pictured as the center of a wheel. The spokes radiating outward represent second-order effects, that is, the impact of violence on a woman’s relationships with others. These affect the woman’s capacity to function socially, educationally, and


191

3rd Order Effects Impact on Children, Family, Co-Workers, Friends

2nd Order Effects

Relationship w/ Children

1st Order Effects Physical Health Mental Health Substance Abuse

Relationship w/ Family & Friends

Work/ School Participation Stable Housing

Figure 1:

The Radiating Impact of Violence

economically. The rim of the wheel represents third-order effects of violence, that is, those that do not directly involve the woman but are related to violence against her, such as threats against her family members. The connections among the various levels are open, indicating that the three levels are linked to each other. Each level is presented below. Because first-order effects have been well documented in previous research, we summarize these briefly while we emphasize and provide examples of second- and third-order effects. Given the small sample size, effects mentioned by any individual are included; not all individuals experienced all of these effects. First-Order Effects of Violence The typical first-order effects of violence on women in our sample included reports of physical injury, depression, fear, low self-esteem, and substance abuse. The first-order effects of violence have been well docu-

192


mented in previous studies (e.g., Koss et al., 1994), and our data are consistent with previous work. Physical health. Damage to women’s physical health following repeated abuse is a common first-order effect of violence (Follingstad, Brennan, Hause, Polek, & Rutledge, 1991; Koss et al., 1994; Sharps & Campbell, 1999). One woman in our study reported seizures and concussions that resulted from abuse. Sensorimotor, language, and coordination difficulties are common consequences of head injuries in battered women (McGrath, Keita, Strickland, & Russo, 1990; Monahan & O’Leary, 1999; Walker, 1994). Mental health. Mental health problems are another consequence of violence. A woman in our sample reported that she became so depressed that she attempted suicide. Women are often depressed following battering (Campbell, Sullivan, & Davidson, 1995; Cascardi & O’Leary, 1992; Cascardi, O’Leary, & Schlee, 1999; Gleason, 1993; Golding, 1999; Sato & Heiby, 1992), and they may suffer symptoms typical of survivors of trauma (Herman, 1992). Women subject to intimate violence may experience posttraumatic stress symptoms, including persistent fear of future abuse (Arata & Saunders, 1991; Houskamp & Foy, 1991; Kemp, Green, Hovanitz, & Rawlings, 1995; Saunders, 1994; Vitanza, Vogel, & Marshall, 1995; Walker, 1993). One woman in our sample reported that fear of the batterer made her feel nervous and anxious almost all of the time, because she was constantly wondering whether the abuser could find her. Self-esteem is another area that is often affected by abuse (Aguilar & Nightingale, 1994). Although self-esteem is sometimes negatively affected during a battering relationship, some women in our sample reported that their self-esteem had increased after they overcame abuse (see also Merritt-Gray & Wuest, 1995; Ulrich, 1998). These women reported that leaving the abuser and attempting to obtain work and housing had increased their sense of selfefficacy and self-respect. Substance abuse. Kilpatrick (1990) found that being a survivor of abuse was the best predictor of female drug and alcohol abusers (see also Clark & Foy, 2000; Hien & Hien, 1998; Koss et al., 1994; Miller & Downs, 1993; Walker, 1994). He suggested that women use drugs to keep away painful and intrusive thoughts of abuse. One woman in our sample reported that she was able to cope with violence in her life through drinking alcohol. She aptly


193

describes how alcohol helped her to feel numb to emotion or, as she put it, “I drink myself to death to avoid trouble.” Second-Order Effects of Violence The second-order impact of violence affects women’s ability to function in the world and impairs their relationships with others. Relationships with family and friends. On the interpersonal level, abuse affects women’s relationships with family, friends, children, and future intimate partners. Family support played an extremely important role in our sample’s postshelter experiences (see also Rose, Campbell, & Kub, 2000). Women in our sample reported that they often moved in with relatives after a shelter stay. Relatives sometimes provided them with tangible resources, such as money and child care; this may be due to the women’s low income as well as (or instead of) the abuse they experienced. I moved from out there [the suburbs] to come back to be with my family. And now, you know, I reside in my mother’s basement. It’s a nice basement, but I’m having a lot of problems there, too. And things [have] not gotten greater, you know, but they’re better than they were before.

Relationships with intimate partners. Women’s attitudes toward future intimate relationships appeared to be altered by violence. Some women in our sample believe that violence is inevitable in relationships, whereas others feel able to recognize and to end potentially violent relationships (see also Merritt-Gray & Wuest, 1995). Over the last year, I had attempted to get back with an ex-boyfriend and he was just too controlling. The point I’m trying to make is I would sense it. I would sense it coming and would back away from it, you know. It’s my way of protecting myself.

Relationships with children. A woman’s relationship with her children also appeared to be deeply affected by violence. A common consequence of violence in our sample was permanent or temporary loss of child custody. Some women were distressed because they did not raise their children, and others hoped that the children would understand that mothers’ relinquishing custody was in the children’s best interest. I was in the system. I was a ward of the state so it’s really not new to me, but it’s new to me having kids in the system . . . I don’t dwell on it because it’s not going

194


to change nothing. So I just move on. I mean, my kids know I love them and care about them, and I’m doing the best things for them . . . I’m not going to force them to get to know me if they really don’t want to. They’re only 2 [years old]. They may not know better right now, but when they get older, they’ll probably understand. But I’m not going to force them to call me “Mom.”

Women’s relationships with their children were affected in other ways. Some women reported worrying about their children’s reactions to violence, and others stated that their children were a great source of comfort and support. And he’s an A student and it scares me. You know, if he’s still holding this in, when is he going to break down? He never broke down . . . My daughter, it scares me too, because she’s 9 years old and she smiles at everything and never cries. We [she and nonabusive ex-husband] started talking and stuff just before I started leaving the shelter. My son did it. I never thought that one relationship would ever start again, but my son had a lot to do with it. He got us talking again.

Ability to work/attend school. Violence also affected women’s ability to work or go to school. The economic difficulties that women often face when leaving an abusive relationship have been documented in several studies (e.g, Sullivan, Campbell, Angelique, Eby, & Davidson, 1994; Shepard & Pence, 1988; Sullivan, Basta, Tan, & Davidson, 1992). Employers are becoming increasingly aware that such violence affects productivity at work (APA Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996). A growing number of employers support violence awareness/prevention interventions (Urban & Bennett, 1999). Many women reported that they were unable to complete their education or hold a job due to battering. Physical injuries caused women to miss work, and sometimes they were asked to leave work due to visible wounds. Some women continued to maintain their career aspirations, although others reported that they had given up trying to attend work or school. And I went to work. I was battered. He had broke my jaw before, and my nose was already cast so I was really in pain. But my job, they was there telling me to be in early Monday because they wanted to talk to me about bringing my personal problems to the job. Not as far as talking to me, but you know, my black eye, that didn’t look right. And I was always a good faithful worker, you know, work every day.

Obtaining stable housing. Another common theme among women in our study was difficulty in obtaining and maintaining stable, affordable housing.


195

Families often had to provide temporary housing to women when they were unable to find a place to stay. Women also often found it difficult to retrieve their possessions from the batterer’s residence. As one woman said, “Basically, I left everything [all possessions]. I mean, I just got up and went one day, and I made up my mind I was not going back, and I didn’t go back.” Another reported, I left the shelter and I moved in with my boyfriend. He conned me to come back. Like a fool I went . . . Everything was fine and then the violence started again . . . So I called my mother, of course, boo-hooing. She said, “You can’t come back. You can bring your clothes here, but you can’t come back.”

Women who flee a battering relationship may bring with them few possessions, exacerbating the difficulty of starting their lives over again. They may cycle among family members until their housing possibilities are exhausted, increasing the instability in their lives and the lives of their children. Third-Order Effects of Violence The third-order effects of violence demonstrate how others in a woman’s life are also affected by battering. We found evidence that violence against a woman has devastating effects on others, particularly family members. Impact on children. Abuse of a woman has powerful consequences for her children (Butterworth & Fulmer, 1992; Hedeen, 1997; Jaffe, Sudermann, & Reitzel, 1992; Jaffe, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1990; Kashani & Wesley, 1998). Children of women in our sample often suffered from behavioral and psychological problems, attended support groups, and needed to assume “adult” responsibilities as a result of violence against their mothers. One woman said, “My daughter, she has problems because of domestic violence . . . I mean, you could say, ‘Look, Kim,’and she’ll start shaking . . . So she’s scared. She’s scared it’s going to be a fight.” Another stated, “[My daughter] gets cranky, despondent, shut down, and just defiant. And so she started burning things. She burned her hair. She burned her bed. I found a suicide note just prior to them going to their next visitation.” Impact on family members’ responsibilities. Other family members are also affected by domestic violence. Family members often had to help in child rearing, ranging from providing babysitting to assuming temporary custody of children.

196


My son was living in Indianapolis with my mother because he really wasn’t going to school. I had him taken out of school because we were running in the car and I said, “Well, Ma, can you keep him until I find a place?”

Violence to family members. Family members were also threatened and subjected to violence by a woman’s batterer. Women sometimes reported that they feared for their families’ safety. When I left the shelter, I moved with my sister. And so my boyfriend I was telling you about, he cannot come around my family because he done beaten me up so much, you know. So he was coming there to see me out . . . busted all the windows, you know, and the police had to come. So that’s why I said, “Well, then they don’t need me being here, and he’s causing all this confusion at my sister’s house.” He came back, and my aunt lives next door to me in another apartment. He came back with a shotgun, a shotgun . . . He broke my front door . . . I don’t know how he broke my aunt’s door from the side.

Links Among Effects First-, second-, and third-order effects of violence are interrelated. For example, threats and violence against family members may be intimidation tactics designed to achieve a woman’s compliance; these tactics, though aimed at others (third-order effects), may negatively affect a woman’s emotional well-being (first-order effect). As discussed above, issues such as depression, fear, and substance abuse are likely to affect every aspect of a woman’s life, including her financial status. One woman in our sample reported that she did not want to see the batterer (who had killed one of her children) in court. Rather than face him, she considered giving up her child support payments. Thus, her fear and anger toward the batterer (first-order effects) affected her economic well-being (second-order effect). I can’t stand for the judge to give this man visitation rights after he done killed one [of her children]. How can a judge let that man come back . . . You know, I can’t stand to do that so I mean I’d rather not do it. You know, and if I do do it, I’m going to lose out. DCFS going to come in. And if I don’t do it, I’m going to lose out because I’m going to get cut off for not going to child support court.

Another woman reported that her choice of intimate partner (second-order effect) is affected by his ability to serve as a role model for her son (thirdorder effect). Because the batterer abused drugs, she does not want a partner who models this behavior for her son.


197

He [current boyfriend] was getting really into drugs, and I don’t want that because I have a son. I’m not to like it if he [boyfriend] uses drugs and then my son’s looking at you, you know. My son’s going to be like, “Why did you leave my father? My father used to use drugs.” . . . He [boyfriend] goes, “I don’t want to give your son a bad example.”

Another woman reported that her inability to find child care interfered with finding an apartment and working. Although she understood the shelter’s desire to foster independence, she believed that more assistance would have been helpful in finding an apartment. They [the domestic violence shelter staff] had the counseling, but when it came down to trying to find child care—because I had to find immediate child care when I was there so I could keep on working or trying to find places to live, you know—and stuff like that, they didn’t impress me really . . . Like, they wanted you to be independent so that you would get stronger to do it, which is fine, but sometimes it’s still nice to have somebody help you.

One woman reported that she was economically self-sufficient prior to her abuse. However, during the abusive relationship, she stopped working and was forced to rely on Public Assistance after leaving the batterer. I look back at what I had [prior to abuse]. I had a 1987 Cutlass Ciera. I had charge cards. I had furniture from Renaissance. I can’t get no credit cards no more, you know, because I wasn’t working. I didn’t get a chance to pay my bills. Public Aid finds out you got credit cards, they won’t take [you]. You know, I had to let my life insurance go and all of that.

This woman found that the death of her son (who was killed by the batterer) emotionally affected not only her family members but also a stranger. Some lady, I don’t know who it was, she was at the hospital . . . this lady paid for my son’s whole funeral . . . He (the funeral director) said the coffin was paid for. He said there was a young lady here this morning came and picked out the coffin and everything, bought the clothes and everything. And everything was baby blue . . . And I’m wondering: Was she a nurse? She could have been a nurse, right?

Links among levels may also be shaped by the context in which women live. The availability of affordable housing or child care, for example, may make it economically possible for women to establish new households sepa-

198


rate from their batterers, which in turn may enhance women’s physical and mental well-being. The existence of counseling or advocacy from programs for women with abusive partners may mitigate the impact of violence.

DISCUSSION

Even though attitudes are changing, domestic violence is still often viewed as an individual matter that affects only the woman who is abused. Adopting an ecological framework, which highlights the interconnections among various areas of a woman’s life, enables us to consider the broadranging impact of violence. Although other research has established the impact of abuse on various domains of women’s lives, this study conceptualizes these effects as interrelated. Moreover, we emphasize those issues that emerged from women’s own understanding of their experience. Our findings suggest that violence not only affects a woman’s physical and psychological well-being, it substantially affects those around her. We found that violence against women had serious ramifications for those in her support system, particularly for her extended family. There are several third-order effects of violence that were suggested by our data. These effects have not been considered in research to the same extent as the first- and second-order effects of violence. For example, a woman’s extended family is often her primary source of financial and emotional support both during and after a shelter stay. Many women, particularly African American women, cannot afford to stop working and take care of their children full-time (Rivers, 1995). Women in our sample sometimes reported that family members took care of their children if the woman was unable to take them to the shelter. Women who do not have family as a source of support for child rearing may be in a double-bind situation. If they cannot find a trusted person to care for their children, they may be forced to stay in an abusive situation. If they stay in an abusive situation due to lack of child care, they may be criticized for remaining in an abusive relationship. If they leave their children with the batterer, they may be accused of abandoning their children in later custody disputes (Browne, 1987). Thus, family support during a shelter stay seems to play an important role, particularly as it affects child care. Family support after a shelter stay appears to be equally important for the poor women in this sample. Women who do not plan to return to their abuser after leaving a domestic violence shelter often state that they intend to move in with family or friends. In one study, this was particularly true for the African American women (Compton et al., 1989). Several authors have argued


199

that the extended family network is an important source of support in the African American community (Stack, 1974; Todd & Worell, 2000; Wilson, Phillip, Kohn, & Curry-El, 1995; cf. Roschelle, 1997) and that African American women may be reluctant to use professional social services (Campbell & Gary, 1998; Joseph, 1997). In our largely African American sample, families often offered women housing and sometimes assumed custodial responsibilities while women sought to establish themselves educationally and financially. Indeed, the flexibility of familial roles (e.g., nonbiological parents assuming care-taking responsibilities) is a source of strength and resilience in many African American families (cf. Wilson, Phillip, Kohn, & Curry-El, 1995). DeFrancisco and Chatham (2000) found that African American women viewed both social support and self-reliance as important ways to overcome obstacles. Interestingly, the women they interviewed felt that social support and self-reliance could coexist without conflicting with one another. Overall, the social support and role flexibility of families was essential in helping women in our sample to gain their independence from the men who abused them. Our data illustrate that batterers sometimes threaten family members and destroy family property. Their violence is not always limited to the woman who is their partner; extended family members are themselves threatened with or actually experience violence from the batterer. This may set up a cycle in which women seek shelter from their families initially but are hesitant to stay for fear of endangering their loved ones. It may also be the reason why families sometimes choose to distance themselves from women with abusive partners and are reluctant to offer their financial and emotional support. In our sample, 1 woman reported that she chose to move from her sister’s house to protect her sister from the batterer’s threats and violence. Nevertheless, most of the family members related to members of our sample were willing to provide housing and support despite potential risks to their own safety. The demographic similarity of women in our sample and the small size of the sample raise the possibility that women with other characteristics may react differently to violence. The low incomes of women in this sample and their ethnicity may have affected their choices; indeed, some of the findings may be the result of poverty or African American culture as well as violence. It is likely that the community structure also played a role in individual decisions and reactions. Cutrona and colleagues found that in addition to individual factors (e.g., positive outlook), the cohesiveness of the community strongly influences the mental health of African American women (Cutrona, Russell, Hessling, Brown, & Murry, 2000). Other factors, such as lack of education or presence of children, may compound the effects of abuse. Women may be reluctant to leave a batterer if he is the father of their children.

200


The strength of this study is that it captures the impact of abuse from the perspective of the victims. However, others involved may have experienced or perceived these episodes differently. Resources were not available to interview those other than the victims; moreover, attempting to do so might have put victims’ safety in jeopardy. The small size of the sample also limits the findings. However, the purpose of this study is not to generalize about this population but rather to extend our theoretical perspective on abuse; consequently, the representativeness of the sample is not the primary concern. Still, we should be cautious in generalizing the findings from this study because the impact of violence might be experienced differently by those with different demographic characteristics or by those who could not be located to be interviewed for this study. Implications for Intervention Our findings have several practical implications. First, they underscore the importance of financially accessible, safe options for providing care to women’s children both during and after a shelter stay. To enable women to find housing, complete schooling, and/or obtain or hold a job, child care is essential. Women with children who do not have family support or access to affordable child care may find it particularly difficult to establish themselves financially and vocationally; this, of course, is true as well for women who are not abused (see also Sullivan et al., 1992). Despite the fact that legislation in the past two decades has attempted to protect women and children once they have left a battering situation (Koss et al., 1994), our data suggests that the support systems or extended families of women were at risk for violence. These families need to be protected, particularly because they often play a key role in providing support for a woman and her children postshelter. Those working to end violence against women may want to consider the need for services for family and/or friends. Restraining orders may include members of the extended family if the batterer has issued threats against them in the past. Probation officers specially assigned to domestic violence cases to increase victim safety need also to be trained to realize that the abuser’s threats, intimidation, or even neutral contact with the woman’s family can jeopardize both victim and family safety. To make policies more effective, policy makers should consider the social context in which battering takes place as well as the way that individuals affected by policies experience their lives. Reforms in the criminal justice and social service systems now emphasize coordinated community responses to social problems. The radiating impact of violence highlights the need for coordinated responses to violence.


201

Implications for Research Smith and colleagues (Smith, Smith, & Earp, 1999) assert that studies of women battering have been hampered by an exclusive focus on the physical event of battering. They contend that consequences of violence must be measured over a longer time period to fully capture the experience of battering. Our subcategories (e.g., relationships with family, impact on housing, impact on family responsibilities) provide direction for a broader understanding of the impact of violence. Because women with abusive partners rely heavily on family supports, battering may be considered not just an individual problem but rather a problem for the family/support network. The predominately African American sample in this study may be particularly likely to seek support from family members, whereas other demographic groups may cope with violence in different ways. Studies that consider violence from a woman’s point of view and that include an understanding of violence in the context of her life, may be useful in formulating interventions and public policy. Qualitative research approaches may help to understand the long-term, radiating effects of violence and therefore to suggest the likely impact of interventions designed to ameliorate violence (Crowell & Burgess, 1996; see also Lewis & Maruna, 1999). For example, in-depth narrative analysis of interviews underscored the role of sexual violence and HIV risk in battering relationships (Reissman, 1994; Stevens & Richards, 1998). Our study suggests that violence has serious ramifications for many aspects of a woman’s life and for her support system. Future in-depth interviews of women with abusive partners may explore how violence against them affects not only their lives but also the lives of those around them.

REFERENCES Aguilar, R. J., & Nightingale, N. N. (1994). The impact of specific battering experiences on the self-esteem of battered women. Journal of Family Violence, 9(1), 35-45. American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family. (1996). Violence and the family. Washington, DC: APA. Angless, T., Maconachie, M., & Zyl, M. (1998). Battered women seeking solutions. Violence Against Women, 4, 637-658. Arata, C. M., & Saunders, B. E. (1991). Concurrent validity of a crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder scale for women within the symptom checklist 90 revised. Violence and Victim, 6, 191-199. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development, American Psychologist, 32, 513-531. Browne, A. (1987). When battered women kill. New York: Macmillan/Free Press.

202


Browne, A., Salomon, A., & Bassuk, S. S. (1999). The impact of recent partner violence on poor women’s capacity to maintain work. Violence Against Women, 54, 393-426. Bruner, J. (1987). Life as narrative. Social Research, 54, 11-32. Butterworth, M., & Fulmer, K. A. (1992). The effect of family violence on children: Intervention strategies including bibliotherapy. Australian Journal of Marriage and Family, 12, 170-182. Byrne, C. A., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Best, C. L., & Saunders, B. E. (1999). The socioeconomic impact of interpersonal violence on women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 362-366. Campbell, D. W., & Gary, F. A. (1998). Providing effective interventions for African American battered women: Afrocentric perspectives. In J. C. Campbell (Ed.), Empowering survivors of abuse: Health care for battered women and their children (pp. 229-240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Campbell, R., Sullivan, C. M., & Davidson, W. S., II. (1995). Women who use domestic violence shelters: Changes in depression over time. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 237-255. Carlson, B. E. (1984). Causes and maintenance of domestic violence: An ecological analysis. Social Service Review, 58, 569-587. Cascardi, M., & O’Leary, D. K. (1992). Depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and selfblame in battered women. Journal of Family Violence, 7, 249-259. Cascardi, M., O’Leary, D. K., & Schlee, K. A. (1999). Co-occurrence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression in physically abused women. Journal of Family Violence, 14, 227-249. Clark, A. H., & Foy, D. W. (2000). Trauma exposure and alcohol use in battered women. Violence Against Women, 6, 37-48. Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37-46. Compton, W. C., Michael, J. R., Krasavage-Hopkins, E. M., Schneiderman, L. S., & Bickman, L. (1989). Intentions for postshelter living in batted women. Journal of Community Psychology, 17, 126-128. Crowell, N. A., & Burgess, A. W. (1996). Understanding violence against women. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Cutrona, C. E., Russell, D. W., Hessling, R. M., Brown, P. A., & Murry, V. (2000). Direct and moderating effects of community context on the psychological well-being of African American women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 1088-1101. DeFrancisco, V. L., & Chatham, C. A. (2000). Self in the community: African American women’s views of self-esteem. Howard Journal of Communications, 11, 73-92. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dutton, M. A. (1996). Battered women’s strategic response to violence: The role of context. In J. L. Edleson & Z. C. Eisikovits (Eds.), Future interventions with battered women and their families (pp. 105-124) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dutton, M. A., Haywood, Y., & El-Bayoumi, G. (1997). Impact of violence on women’s health. In S. J. Gallant, G. P. Keita, & R. Royak-Schaler (Eds.), Health care for women: Psychological, social, and behavioral influences (pp. 41-56). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Follingstad, D. R., Brennan, A. F., Hause, E. S., Polek, D. S., & Rutledge, L. L. (1991). Factors moderating physical and psychological symptoms of battered women. Journal of Family Violence, 6, 81-95. Gleason, W. J. (1993). Mental disorders in battered women: An empirical study. Violence and Victims, 8, 53-68.


203

Golding, J. M. (1999). Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental disorders: A metaanalysis. Journal of Family Violence, 14, 99-132. Hedeen, F. (1997). The legacy of domestic violence: Effects on children. Women and Therapy, 20, 111-118. Hien, D., & Hien, N. M. (1998). Women, violence with intimates, and substance abuse: Relevant theory, empirical findings, and recommendations for future research. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 24, 419-438. Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books. Houskamp, B. H., & Foy, D. W. (1991). The assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 367-375. Jaffe, P. G., Sudermann, M., & Reitzel, D. (1992). Working with children and adolescents to end the cycle of violence: A social learning approach to intervention and prevention programs. In R. D. Peters & R. J. McMahon (Eds.), Aggression and violence throughout the life span (pp. 83-99). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Jaffe, P. G., Wolfe, D. A., & Wilson, S. K. (1990). Children of battered women: Vol. 21. Developmental clinical psychology and psychiatry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Joseph, J. (1997). Woman battering: A comparative analysis of Black and White women. In G. K. Kanter & J. L. Jasinski (Eds.), Out of darkness: Contemporary perspectives on family violence (pp. 161-169). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (Eds.). (1999). Making meaning of narratives. The narrative study of lives, Vol. 6. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kashani, J. H., & Wesley, A. D. (1998). The impact of family violence on children and adolescents: Vol. 37. Developmental clinical psychology and psychiatry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Kelly, J. G. (1966). Ecological constraints on mental health services. American Psychologist, 21, 535-539. Kelly, J. G. (1968). Towards an ecological conception of preventive interventions. In J. W. Carter, Jr. (Ed.), Research contributions from psychology to community mental health (pp. 75-99). New York: Behavioral Publications. Kelly, J. G. (1971). Qualities for the community psychologist. American Psychologist, 26, 897-903. Kemp, A., Green, B. L., Hovanitz, C., & Rawlings, E. I. (1995). Incidence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder in battered women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 43-55. Kilpatrick, D. (1990, August). Violence as a precursor of women’s substance abuse: The rest of the drugs-violence story. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA. Koss, M. P., Goodman, L. A., Brown, A., Fitzgerald, L. F., Keita, G. P., & Russo, N. F. (1994). Male violence against women at home, at work, and in the community. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Lewis, D. A., & Maruna, S. (1999). Person-centered policy analysis. In S. S. Nagel (Ed.), Policy analysis methods (pp. 231-250). Commack, NY: Nova Science Publishers. Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. McGrath, E., Keita, G. P., Strickland, B. R., & Russo, N. F. (Eds.). (1990). Women and depression: Risk factors and treatment issues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Merritt-Gray, J., & Wuest, J. (1995). Counteracting abuse and breaking free: The process of leaving revealed through women’s voices. Health Care for Women International, 16, 399-412. Miller, B., & Downs, W. R. (1993). The impact of family violence on the use of alcohol by women. Alcohol Health and Research World, 17, 137-143. Mills, T. (1985). The assault on the self: Stages in coping with battering husbands. Qualitative Sociology, 8, 103-123.

204


Mishler, E. G. (1986). Research interviewing: Context and narrative. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Monahan, K., & O’Leary, D. K. (1999). Head injury and battered women: An initial inquiry. Health and Social Work, 24, 269-278. Reissman, C. K. (1994). Qualitative studies in social work research. London: Sage. Riger, S., Ahrens, C., & Blickenstaff, A. (2000). Measuring interference with employment and education reported by women with abusive partners: Preliminary data. Violence and Victims. 15, 161-172. Rivers, R. Y. (1995). Clinical issues and intervention with ethnic minority women. In J. F. Aponte, R. Y. Rivers, & J. W. Wohl (Eds.), Psychological interventions and cultural diversity (pp. 181-198). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Roschelle, A. R. (1997). No more kin: Exploring race, class, and gender in family networks. Understanding families, Vol. 8. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Rose, L. E., Campbell, J., & Kub, J. (2000). The role of social support and family relationships in women’s responses to battering. Health Care for Women International, 21, 27-39. Rosenwald, G. C. (1996). Making whole: Method and ethics in mainstream and narrative psychology. In R. Josselson (Ed.), Ethics and process in the narrative study of lives. The narrative study of lives, Vol. 4 (pp. 245-274). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Sato, R. A., & Heiby, E. M. (1992). Correlates of depressive symptoms among battered women. Journal of Family Violence, 7, 229-245. Saunders, D. G. (1994). Posttraumatic stress symptom profiles of battered women: A comparison of survivors in two settings. Violence and Victims, 9, 31-42. Sharps, P. W., & Campbell, J. (1999). Health consequences for victims of violence in intimate relationships. In X. B. Arriaga & S. Oskamp (Eds.), Violence in intimate relationships (pp. 16318). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shepard, M., & Pence, E. (1988). The effect of battering on the employment of battered women. Women and Social Work, 3, 55-61. Smith, P. H., Smith, J. B., & Earp, J. A. (1999). Beyond the measurement trap: A reconstructed conceptualization and measurement of women battering. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 177-193. Stack, C. (1974). All our kin: Strategies for survival in a Black community. New York: Harper & Row. Stevens, P. E., & Richards, D. J. (1998). Narrative case analysis of HIV infection in a battered woman. Health Care for Women International, 19, 9-22. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Sullivan, C. M., Basta, J., Tan, C., & Davidson, W. S., II. (1992). After the crisis: A needs assessment of women leaving a domestic violence shelter. Violence and Victims, 7(3), 267-274. Sullivan, C. M., Campbell, R., Angelique, H., Eby, K. K., & Davidson, W. S., II. (1994). An advocacy intervention program for women with abusive partners: Six-month follow-up. American Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 101-122. Sutherland, C., Bybee, D., & Sullivan, C. (1998). The long-term effects of battering on women’s health. Women’s Health: Research on Gender, Behavior, and Policy, 4, 41-70. Todd, J. L., & Worell, J. (2000). Resilience in low-income, employed, African American women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 119-128. Trickett, E. J., Kelly, J. G., & Vincent, T. A. (1985). The spirit of ecological inquiry in community research. In E. C. Susskind & D. B. Klein (Eds.), Community research: Methods, paradigms, and applications (pp. 283-333). New York: Praeger.


205

Ulrich, Y. C. (1998). What helped most in leaving spouse abuse: Implications for intervention. In J. C. Campbell (Ed.), Health care for battered women and their children. Sage series on violence against women (pp. 70-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Urban, B., & Bennett, L. (1999) When the community punches a time clock; Evaluating a domestic abuse prevention program. Violence Against Women, 5, 1178-1193. Vitanza, S., Vogel, L. C., & Marshall, L. L. (1995). Distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in abused women. Violence and Victims, 10, 23-34. Walker, L.E.A. (1993). The battered woman syndrome is a psychological consequence of abuse. In R. J. Gelles & D. R. Loseke (Eds.), Current controversies on family violence (pp. 133153). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Walker, L.E.A. (1994). Abused women and survivor therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Wilson, M. N., Phillip, D. G., Kohn, L., & Curry-El, J. A. (1995). Cultural relativistic approaches toward ethnic minorities in family therapy. In J. F. Aponte, R. Y. Rivers, & J. W. Wohl (Eds.), Psychological interventions and cultural diversity (pp. 92-108) Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Wyche, K. F. (1999). Interpreting the life narrative: Race, class, gender, and historical context. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 23, 323-326.

Stephanie Riger is professor of psychology, gender, and women’s studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her current research focuses on the impact of change in welfare status on levels of violence against women and the evaluation of domestic violence and sexual assault services. She is the author of Transforming Psychology: Gender in Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, 2000). Sheela Raja is a staff psychologist at the Hines VA Medical Center, Hines IL. Her clinical interests include working with survivors of traumatic events. Her current research focus is on the experiences of female veterans who seek help after sexual assault. Jennifer Camacho is an epidemiologist with the Chicago Department of Public Health. After spending several years researching domestic violence, she is now focusing on the evaluation and improvement of public health programs funded by the city of Chicago.