Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104105

Paige H. Smith, PhD, Center for Women's Health and Wellness, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 401 HHP Building, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, 336.334.4735, phsmith@uncg.edu and Ann Coker, PhD, School of Public Health, University of Texas, PO Box 20186, Houston, TX 77225.

Coping is a normal response to stress. It is inevitable that battered women would find ways to cope in abusive relationships. However little research has investigated the strategies battered women use to cope. We conducted a qualitative study to explore the factors that led women to seek shelter services. The Conceptual Framework of the Stress Process, which recognizes that stress reflects an imbalance between demands and resources, provided the conceptual basis for this study. The sample consisted of ten residents from three shelters in North Carolina. The women were recruited and interviewed by a formerly battered woman who worked as a volunteer with these shelters. This paper reports on the strategies women used to cope with battering. We identified 18 different strategies which we developed into a framework with two dimensions: the Change Dimension and the Engagement Dimension. The Change Dimension refers to what women are hoping to change and runs the continuum from changing their view of the situation to changing the situation. The Engagement Dimension refers to the extent to which women involve other people in their efforts to cope; it runs the continuum from intrapersonal strategies (coping alone) to interpersonal strategies (involving others). Hence battered women's ways of coping can be into the following four categories across the two dimensions: Intrapersonal-Emotional Regulation; Intrapersonal-Problem management; Interpersonal-Emotional Regulation; and Interpersonal-Problem management. This presentation will conclude by discussing implications for practice and how this framework was incorporated into a patient education intervention.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the presentation, the participant will be able to (
• Recognize the complexity of battered women's ways of coping with abuse, and (
• Identify ways to apply this framework in working with battered women.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Coping

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation