Working Toward Freedom from Violence: The Process of Change in Battered Women
Abstract
This article explores the utility of applying the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change to the problems facing battered women with a goal of understanding and systematically measuring how battered women work to overcome the abuse in their lives. The central constructs of the Transtheoretical Model—stages of change, processes of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy—are described with supporting research, and the relevance of this model for the issues with which battered women deal is discussed. An awareness of the process and stages of change may be useful for members of the criminal justice system and the helping professions in their dealings with victims of abuse.
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Interventions aimed at supporting women are most effective when aligned with a woman's current position in the change process, whether staying, preparing to leave or after separation.
“The fi ndings demonstrated that women ' s responses re fl ected psychological, emotional and behavioural domains, and that interventions aimed at supporting women are most effective when aligned with a woman ' s current position in the change process, whether staying, preparing to leave or after separation (Brown, 1997; Prochaska & Norcross, 2018).”
From ‘Reconnecting With All the Things That You Lost Because of Control’: What Helps Women in the Process of Leaving a Psychologically Abusive Intimate Partner? (2026) · cites this paper as Brown, 1997
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Through the bullet-proof glass: conducting research in prison settings
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Self-citationRestivo, F. S., Corson Keogh, A. J., Lawrie, F. A., Treharne, G. J., & Clifford, A. E. (2026) · Feminism & Psychology · doi:10.1177/09593535261459645
- Authors
- BROWN, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Rhode Island (US)
- Corresponding author
- BROWN, JODY
- Venue
- Violence Against Women
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1997-02
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-26
- ISSN
- 1077-8012 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8448
- OpenAlex
- W2151561393
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 6.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Violence Against Women (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Keywords
- transtheoretical model, stages of change, change processes, decisional balance, self-efficacy, battered women, intimate partner violence, abuse survivors, criminal justice system, helping professions, violence prevention
- MeSH terms
- Behavior, Crime, Models, Theoretical, Research, Social Problems, Domestic Violence
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