Intergenerational Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence as Familial Risk Factors for Lifetime Attempted Suicide Among Battered Women

This study examines the impact of two factors, intergenerational substance abuse and exposure to domestic violence, on the lifetime attempted suicide histories of adult, minority, battered women residing in a domestic violence shelter. A total of 122 women, mostly African American and Latina, were interviewed to obtain their retrospective reports of the frequency and use of substances and on the incidences of domestic violence among their immediate (first-degree) and extended (second-degree) family members. Results revealed that battered women with a history of suicide attempts (n = 45) were more likely to report substance abuse among both first-degree (specifically fathers) and second-degree relatives than were women without such suicide attempt histories (n = 77). Attempters were also more likely to report witnessing the physical abuse of their mothers. The multiple impacts of the extended family are discussed in light of these findings

Domestic Violence Survivors\u27 Self-Identified Reasons for Returning to Abusive Relationships

The present study examines self-identified reasons for returning to abusive relationships. Ninety female residents of an urban domestic violence shelter completed structured interviews that included questions about their previous attempts to separate from the batterer and their perceived likelihood of returning in the future. The results indicated that participants appeared to underestimate their likelihood of returning to the relationship. A particularly intriguing pattern of findings emerged with respect to emotional attachment. Compared to those leaving for the first time, participants with a history of past separations were significantly more likely to indicate that they might return to the batterer because of their continued attachment. Emotional attachment also had a high rate of repeat endorsement, indicating that those who considered returning because of their attachment to the batterer were significantly more likely to have done so for this reason in the past. Clinical implications of the findings will be discussed

Reasons for returning to abusive relationships: Effects of prior victimization

Studies have demonstrated that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk of revictimization, but research has not yet examined whether a history of CSA may affect patterns of remaining in or returning to abusive relationships in adulthood. This study examines the impact of a CSA history on decisions to return to abusive relationships in a sample of 104 adult domestic violence survivors. Participants were interviewed about the number of times that they had previously separated from and returned to their abusive partner, the factors that influenced their decision to return (both psychological/internal and environmental/external factors), and their perceived likelihood of returning in the future. As predicted, CSA survivors (n = 34) reported a significantly greater number of past separations than non-CSA survivors (n = 70). CSA survivors were also significantly more likely to report that their decisions to return were influenced by emotional attachment to the batterer. CSA survivors did not perceive themselves to be at greater risk of returning in the future, suggesting that they may be more likely to underestimate their vulnerability to returning to the battering relationship. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. KEY WORDS: domestic violence; childhood sexual abuse; interpersonal violence; revictimization