Methods: Ninety-four women who did not return to their abusive male partners following a shelter stay were interviewed at shelter exit and five more times over a two year period. Coping resources (social support, financial and material goods, self-efficacy), and environmental stressors (continued abuse, financial and emotional losses, new or altered family responsibilities) were assessed for their role in contributing to or buffering subsequent psychological well-being. Standardized measures of depression and perceived quality of life were used as indicators of psychological well-being.
Results: Growth curve analyses uncovered distinct trends
in well-being over time for various subgroups of women. While measures
of depression and perceived quality of life indicated fairly stable levels
of psychological well-being over a two-year period for the sample as a
whole, quite different trends or “trajectories” in well-being existed by
level of exposure to stressors near the time of shelter exit. Trends
were consistent with the notion of “cumulative adversity”, such that the
gap in well-being between the highest and lowest stress groups continued
to widen in the expected direction with no hint of reversing at the two-year
mark. Coping resources exerted a positive effect on psychological
well-being. The gap in well-being
between those high and low on resources was often small and in some
cases
converged.
Implications: The need for changes in the emphasis of policies and direct practice, including transitional housing and long-term emotional support, are described.