 |
The process of leaving an abusive
relationship:
The role of risk assessments and decision-certainty.
Martin, A.J., Berenson, K.R., Griffing, S., Sage, R.E.,
Madry, L., Bingham, L.E. & Primm, B.J.
Journal of Family Violence, 15(2), 109-122.
Seventy female residents of an urban domestic violence
shelter were interviewed to examine a series of hypotheses
concerning two factors relevant to the process of leaving
an abusive relationship: risk assessments and decision-certainty.
Participants' subjective estimates of their own risk of
returning were examined relative to their perceptions
of the likelihood that most battered women will return
to the batterer, and their status on known risk factors
for returning to an abusive relationship. As hypothesized,
battered women's perceptions of personal risk for returning
to the batterer were biased by unrealistic optimism; specifically,
personal risk was estimated as significantly lower than
the risk of most battered women, and was not correlated
with actual risk factors. Further, the magnitude of the
optimistic bias was significantly greater among women
expressing high certainty about their decision to leave
than among women who expressed less certainty. The clinical
implications of these findings are discussed. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
