CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 462Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceChild Abuse and TraumaElder Abuse and Neglect

Leaving An Abusive Partner: An Empirical Review of Predictors, the Process of Leaving, and Psychological Well-Being

Open access
Anderson, Deborah K., Saunders, Daniel G.·2003·Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
DOI 10.1177/1524838002250769
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Four facets of leaving an abusive relationship are reviewed: (a) factors related to initially leaving an abusive partner; (b) the process of leaving an abusive relationship; (c) the psychological well-being of survivors after leaving; and (d) the predictors of this well-being. The conceptual and methodological limitations of studies in each of these areas are presented. Consistently found predictors of leaving include both material and psychological factors. Because battered women typically undergo several shifts in their thinking about the abuse before leaving permanently, research on leaving as a process is highlighted. A stress-process framework is used to explain the seemingly paradoxical finding that some women just out of the abusive relationship may have greater psychological difficulties than those who are still in it. For those experiencing the most stress, psychological health can worsen over time. Researchers and practitioners need to pay more attention to the plight of women who have left abusive partners.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/1524838002250769

Cites

123 of 123 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

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?

  • Half of all attempts to exit an abusive relationship later result in reunion with the aggressor.

    “In fact, several studies have demonstrated that half of all the attempts to exit an abusive relationship later result in reunion with the aggressor (e.g., Anderson & Saunders, 2003;Lerner & Kennedy, 2000;Martin, Berenson, Griffing, Sage, Madry, Bingham & Primm, 2000).”

    From Narrative Therapy and the Nature Of “Innovative Moments” in the Construction of Change (2009) · cites this paper as Anderson & Saunders, 2003

    The Summary and Conclusions section says survivors may leave and return multiple times, and the quantitative-research table lists studies tracking whether women returned after leaving shelters. Neither passage establishes that half of all attempts to leave result in reunion; the paper’s separate reference to 'about half' in the Violence section concerns women who continued to feel threatened, not women who reunited. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Post-separation abuse is often missed by quantitative measures, especially the more covert types of abuse that arise following separation.

    “Post-separation abuse is often missed by quantitative measures (Anderson & Saunders, 2003), especially the more covert types of abuse that arise following separation (Galántai et al., 2019; Lynch et al., 2021; Miller & Smolter, 2011).”

    From Post‐separation abuse: A concept analysis (2023) · cites this paper as Anderson & Saunders, 2003

  • Leaving is widely understood not as a single event but rather as a process that unfolds over time.

    “Consequently, leaving is widely understood not as a single event but rather as a process that unfolds over time (Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Barrios et al., 2021).”

    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 Anderson & Saunders, 2003

  • When applied to IPV, the stages of change model has been used to describe how women may move from nonrecognition of abuse toward acknowledgement, consideration of options and active steps towards safety.

    “When applied to IPV, the model has been used to described how women may move from nonrecognition of abuse toward acknowledgement, consideration of options and active steps towards safety (Anderson & Saunders, 2003; Enander & Holmberg, 2008).”

    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 Anderson & Saunders, 2003

  • If, when and how women seek help or attempt to deal with the violence and its effects is often a long-term process shaped by relationship dynamics and diverse priorities, needs and conditions.

    “If, when and how women seek help or attempt to deal with the violence and its effects is often a long-term process shaped by relationship dynamics and diverse priorities, needs and conditions [10–13].”

    From Longitudinal impacts of an online safety and health intervention for women experiencing intimate partner violence: randomized controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [10]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 20

  1. [1]1. American Psychiatric Association. (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washing- ton, DC: Author.
  2. [27]27. Compton, W., Michael, J., Krasavage-Hopkins, E., Schneiderman, L., & Bickman, L. (1989). Intentions for postshelter living in battered women. Journal of Commu- nity Psychology, 17, 126-128.
  3. [34]34. Dobash, R., & Dobash, R. (1988). Research as social action: The struggle for battered women. In K. Yllo & M. Bograd (Eds.). Feminist perspectives on wife abuse (pp. 51- 74). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  4. [38]38. Dutton, D., & Painter, S. (1981). Traumatic bonding: The development of emotional attachments in battered women and other relationships of intermittent abuse. Victimology: An International Journal, 1(4), 139-155.
  5. [42]42. Ellis, D. (1992). Woman abuse among separated and divorced women: The relevance of social support. In E. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspec- tives (pp. 177-189). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
  6. [53]53. Hilbert, J., & Hilbert, H. (1984). Battered women leaving shelter: Which way do they go? A discriminant function analysis. The Journal of Applied Social Sciences, 8(2), 291- 297.
  7. [57]57. Holt, D. (1995). An exploration of the decision to leave an abusive partner. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(6-A), 2417.
  8. [69]69. Lesser, B. (1990). Attachment and situational factors influ- encing battered women's return to their mates follow- ing a shelter program. In K. Pottharst (Ed.), Research explorations in adult attachment (pp. 81-128). New York: Peter Lang.
  9. [83]83. Okun, A. (1998). Battered women who leave: An explor- atory model of factors involved in the separation pro- cess. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1998). Dissertation Abstracts International, 59(2-B), 882.
  10. [95]95. Raphael, J. (1999). Keeping women poor: How domestic violence prevents women from leaving welfare and entering the world of work. In R. Brandwein (Ed.), Bat- tered women, children, and welfare reform: The ties that bind (pp. 31-43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  11. [117]117. Syers-McNairy, M. (1990). Women who leave violent rela- tionships: Getting on with life: I and II. (Doctoral disser- tation, University of Minnesota, 1990). Dissertation Abstracts International, 51(6-A), 2159.
  12. [128]128. Ulrich, Y. (1998). What helped most in leaving spousal abuse: Implications for Interventions. In J. Campbell (Ed.), Empowering survivors of abuse: Health care for bat- tered women and their children. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  13. [129]129. Varvaro, E. (1991). Using a grief response assessment ques- tionnaire in a support group to assist battered women in their recovery. Response, 13(4), 17-20.
  14. [132]132. Wheaton, B. (1999). The nature of stressors. In A. Horwitz & L. Scheid (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems (pp. 176-197). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  15. [134]134. Williams, J. (2000). Factors related to women's stages of ter- minating violent intimate relationships. (Doctoral dis- sertation, Indiana University, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(3-B), 1333.
  16. [135]135. Wilson, J. 1999. Surviving well: Decision-making and resil- iency of African American and Euro-American women who have successfully left loved and dangerous part- ners. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oklahoma, 1999). Dissertation Abstracts International, 60(5-A), 1796.
  17. [137]137. Wilson, M., Johnson, H., & Daly, M. (1995). Lethal and non- lethal violence against wives. Canadian Journal of Crimi- nology, 37, 331-362.
  18. [140]140. SUGGESTED FUTURE READINGS Rhodes, N., & McKenzie, E. (1998). Why do battered women stay? Three decades of research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3(4), 391-406.
  19. [141]141. Sleutel, M. (1998). Women's experiences of abuse: A review of qualitative research. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 19, 525-539.
  20. [142]142. Anderson, D., Saunders, D., Yoshihama, M., Bybee, D., & Sullivan, C. (in press). Long-term trends in psychologi- cal well-being among women separated from abusive partners. Violence Against Women.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Anderson, D. K., & Saunders, D. G.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
ORCID
Venue
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2003-04
Volume
4
Issue
2
Pages
163-191
ISSN
  • 1524-8380 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-8324
DOI
10.1177/1524838002250769
OpenAlex
W2019600095
Cited by
462
References
123
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 19
FWCI
8.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Trauma Violence & Abuse (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5t32mh019996-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH19996)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
Keywords
leaving abusive relationships, intimate partner violence, battered women, psychological well-being
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Choice Behavior, Divorce, Female, Humans, Internal-External Control, Motivation, Spouse Abuse, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Women's Health, Battered Women, Self Efficacy, Uncertainty

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