Q- sort methodology was used to detect underlying structures in 45 statements that reflect women’s attempts to make themselves feel better after incidents of abuse. Eight dichotomous categories were created as plausible descriptors of the 45 statements within the measure. Graduate and advance undergraduate students used the categories to sort the 45 statements. The individual sorts were input with PQMethod software. The Centroid method was used for data analysis. Three of the eight proposed categories were supported: perspective (i.e. the woman’s thought and perceptions regarding the abusive relationship), health behavior, and social relationship. Data analysis displayed that the 45 “feel better” items are able to be grouped into meaningful categories
