The Impact of Family and Friends’ Reactions on the Well-Being of Women With Abusive Partners
Abstract
This study examined the degree to which battered women talked with family and friends about abuse they were experiencing and how family and friends responded. Participants were 137 women who had recently experienced domestic violence and were exiting a shelter. Most women confided in family and friends about the abuse. Family and friends’ reactions depended on contextual factors, including the woman’s relationship with her assailant, number of separations, number of children, and whether family and friends were threatened. Family and friends’ negative reactions and offers of tangible support were significantly related to women’s well-being, although positive emotional support was not.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Over three quarters of women experiencing domestic violence and abuse disclose the abuse at some point.
“Over three quarters of women experiencing DVA disclose the abuse at some point, [4][5][6]”
From Help‐seeking amongst women survivors of domestic violence: a qualitative study of pathways towards formal and informal support (2016) · cites this paper as [6]
The study provides corroboration and further understanding of barriers to disclosure and help-seeking previously identified.
“The study provides corroboration and further understanding of barriers to disclosure and help-seeking previously identified.”
From Help‐seeking amongst women survivors of domestic violence: a qualitative study of pathways towards formal and informal support (2016) · cites this paper as [6]
Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267 · see citing works
Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310 · Cited by 18,093 · see citing works
Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress.
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276 · Cited by 12,910 · see citing works
Measuring Intrafamily Conflict and Violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales
Straus, M. A. (1979) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.2307/351733 · Cited by 6,187 · see citing works
Social Indicators of Well-Being
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-2253-5 · Cited by 3,671 · see citing works
Social support: An interactional view.
Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., & Pierce, G. R. (1990) · Wiley eBooks · Cited by 2,657 · see citing works
Social Indicators of Well-Being: Americans' Perceptions of Life Quality
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,409 · see citing works
Physical health consequences of physical and psychological intimate partner violence
Coker, A. L. (2000) · Archives of Family Medicine · doi:10.1001/archfami.9.5.451 · Cited by 1,166 · see citing works
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e330452004-001 · Cited by 927 · see citing works
Social support in pregnancy: Psychosocial correlates of birth outcomes and postpartum depression.
Collins, N. L., Dunkel‐Schetter, C., Lobel, M., & Scrimshaw, S. C. M. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.65.6.1243 · Cited by 721 · see citing works
Palileo, G. J., Jaffe, P. G., Wolfe, D. A., & Wilson, S. K. (1992) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2075468 · Cited by 679 · see citing works
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Campbell, J. C., & Lewandowski, L. (1997) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70317-8 · Cited by 594 · see citing works
Social support in pregnancy: Psychosocial correlates of birth outcomes and postpartum depression.
Collins, N. L., Dunkel‐Schetter, C., Lobel, M., et al. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.6.1243 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e491852006-001 · Cited by 526 · see citing works
Coping with domestic violence: Social support and psychological health among battered women
Mitchell, R. E., & Hodson, C. A. (1983) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00896600 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
Safety Planning with Battered Women: Complex Lives/Difficult Choices
Davies, J., Lyon, E., & Monti-Catania, D. (1998) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781452232034 · Cited by 239 · see citing works
Partner Violence, Social Support, and Distress Among Inner‐City African American Women
Thompson, M. P., Kaslow, N. J., Kingree, J. B., Rashid, A., Puett, R. C., Jacobs, D., & Matthews, A. (2000) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1023/a:1005198514704 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Counteracting abuse and breaking free: The process of leaving revealed through women's voices
Merritt‐Gray, M., & Wuest, J. (1995) · Health Care for Women International · doi:10.1080/07399339509516194 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
The Role of Social Support in the Lives of Women Exiting Domestic Violence Shelters
Tan, C., Basta, J., Sullivan, C. M., & Davidson, W. S. (1995) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/088626095010004004 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Self-citationDavis, R. C., Brickman, E., & Baker, T. (1991) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00938035 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
The Radiating Impact of Intimate Partner Violence
Riger, S., Raja, S., & Camacho, J. M. (2002) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260502017002005 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Social support and victims of crime: Matching event, support, and outcome
Kaniasty, K. Z., & Norris, F. H. (1992) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00940837 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
The long-term effects of battering on women's health.
Sutherland, C., Bybee, D. I., & Sullivan, C. F. (1998) · PubMed · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Self-citationDomestic Violence and Help-Seeking Behaviors among Rural Women: Results from a Shelter-Based Study
Krishnan, S. P., Hilbert, J. C., & VanLeeuwen, D. (2001) · Family & Community Health · doi:10.1097/00003727-200104000-00006 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Defining culturally appropriate community interventions: Hispanics as a case study
Marín, G. (1993) · Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/1520-6629(199304)21:2 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Relationship status of battered women over time
Campbell, J. C., Miller, P., Cardwell, M. M., & Belknap, R. A. (1994) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/bf01531957 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Battered Women's Coping Strategies and Psychological Distress: Differences by Immigration Status
Yoshihama, M. (2002) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1023/a:1015393204820 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Hutchison, I. W., & Hirschel, J. D. (1998) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801298004004004 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Tollestrup, K., Sklar, D. P., Frost, F. J., Olson, L. M., Weybright, J., Sandvig, J., & Larson, M. (1999) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1999.0552 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Battered Women and Their Families: Intervention Strategies and Treatment Programs
Morrey, L., & Roberts, A. R. (1985) · Family Relations · doi:10.2307/583773 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Profile and Strategies of Women who Have Ended Abuse
Horton, A. L., & Johnson, B. L. (1993) · Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services · doi:10.1177/104438949307400804 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Moss, V. A., Pitula, C. R., Campbell, J. C., & Halstead, L. A. (1997) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.3109/01612849709009423 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
National Crime Victimization Survey: Violence against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey
Bachman, R. D., & Saltzman, L. E. (1995) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e377832004-001 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Overcoming mother blaming? Future directions for research on mothering and domestic violence.
Radford, L., & Hester, M. (2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10408-007 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Donato, K. M., & Bowker, L. H. (1984) · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Downs, W. R., Miller, B. A., & Panek, D. D. (1993) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/bf00981763 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Fernández-Esquer, M. E., & McCloskey, L. A. (1999) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/0886-6708.14.3.293 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Liang, B., Goodman, L., Tummala-Narra, P., & Weintraub, S. (2005) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-005-6233-6 · Cited by 808 · see citing works
Sylaska, K. M., & Edwards, K. M. (2014) · Trauma, Violence, & Abuse · doi:10.1177/1524838013496335 · Cited by 456 · see citing works
Evans, M. A., & Feder, G. S. (2016) · Health Expectations · doi:10.1111/hex.12330 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Goodman, L. A., & Smyth, K. F. (2011) · Psychology of Violence · doi:10.1037/a0022977 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Trotter, J. L., & Allen, N. E. (2009) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-009-9232-1 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Abusive Men's Use of Children to Control Their Partners and Ex-Partners
Beeble, M. L., Bybee, D., & Sullivan, C. M. (2007) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040.12.1.54 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Self-citationFortin, I., Guay, S., Lavoie, V., Boisvert, J.-M., & Beaudry, M. (2012) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-011-9402-4 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Partner Violence and Psychological Well-Being: Buffer or Indirect Effect of Social Support
Escribà-Agüir, V., Ruiz-Pérez, I., Montero-Piñar, M. I., Vives-Cases, C., Plazaola-Castaño, J., & Martín-Baena, D. (2010) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181d2f0dd · Cited by 73 · see citing works
From the Voices of Women: Facilitating Survivor Access to IPV Services
Simmons, C. A., Farrar, M., Frazer, K., & Thompson, M. J. (2011) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801211424476 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Identifying Factors that Predict Women's Inability to Maintain Separation from an Abusive Partner
Abdulmohsen Alhalal, E., Ford-Gilboe, M., Kerr, M., & Davies, L. (2012) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.3109/01612840.2012.714054 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
- Authors
- Goodkind, J. R., Gillum, T. L., Bybee, D. I., & Sullivan, C. M.
- Affiliations
- California State University, East Bay (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Venue
- Violence Against Women
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2003-03
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 347-373
- ISSN
- 1077-8012 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8448
- OpenAlex
- W2139236828
- Cited by
- 216
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 3.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Violence Against Women (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- domestic violence, battered women, emotional support, tangible support, well-being, intimate partner violence
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
