Citation

Parker G, Lee C. J. Interpers. Violence 2002; 17(9): 987-1001.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260502017009005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which aspects of abuse and of help seeking were associated with physical and emotional health. A total of 1,168 women aged 48 to 53, identified from the mid-age cohort of the Women’s Health Australia longitudinal project as having experienced abuse, completed self-report questionnaires. Descriptors of the abuse and of help seeking were used in an attempt to predict scores on the SF-36 physical and mental health summary measures, GHQ-12, and the CES-D depression scale. Although relationships were apparent in the data, all predictors together accounted for less than 25% of the variance in outcome measures, indicating that a history of abuse is only one aspect of a woman’s life that impacts on her general wellbeing. Future investigations would benefit from a focus on personal coping characteristics that are predictive of positive outcomes to identify strategies that help women survive abuse experiences