Helpseeking Behavior of Battered Women: An Analysis of 6,000 Shelter Interviews (From The Victimology Handbook: Research Findings, Treatment, and Public Policy, P 113-127, 1990, Emilio Viano, ed. -- See NCJ-126951)

• NCJ Number: 126960
• Author(s): E W Condolf; E Fisher; J R McFerron
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of intake and exit interviews with 6,612 battered women who entered Texas shelters from 1983 to 1985 examined the nature of the physical abuse and the women's helpseeking behaviors.

Abstract

For this study, only the women who reported having been physically battered and who used residential services were considered. The abuse variables measured in the interviews covered kinds of abuses, injury, and care received. Help-seeking variables included the response to abuse, the shelter services received, continued services, and living arrangements. The principal analysis was the bivariate correlation of background, abuse, and other help-seeking variables with the four major help-seeking variables. Matrices of the nonparametric Tau-b coefficient were used to identify the variables that most influenced help-seeking. Comparison with previous battered-women studies showed the Texas sample to have a greater percentage of minority, undereducated, and low-income women. The battered women in the Texas sample received more life-threatening abuse. The frequencies of the four help-seeking variables showed that women responded assertively to their batterers' abuse and used a variety of shelter services. Income, number of children, abuse severity, and the availability of shelter services influenced help-seeking behavior. Results support the "survivor" hypothesis of victim response rather than the "learned helplessness" hypothesis. 3 tables, 1 reference, and 6-item bibliography