%0 Journal Article
%T Divorce and Domestic Violence Among African American Women
%J Journal of  divorce and remarriage
%D 2001
%A Molina, Olga
%V 34
%N 1
%P 131-141
%X This paper reports a study of African American divorced working women who received both legal and social work services at a pre-paid labor union legal services program. Thirty women were interviewed face-to-face to explore and describe the pre-divorce, divorce and post-divorce phases from the women's perspectives. Forty percent of the women were battered wives. The abuse reported included verbal, mental, sexual, financial and physical forms of abuse. The findings demonstrate a marked improvement from the pre-divorce to post-divorce phase of emotional divorce adjustment. The women went from feeling isolated, ambivalent, with a low self-esteem during the pre-divorce phase to intense feelings of ambivalence, fear, loss and anger during the divorce action. By the post-divorce phase, 90% of the women reported feelings of happiness, freedom and higher self-esteem.<p />
%G 
%I Informa - Taylor and Francis Group
%@ 1050-2556
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J087v34n01_08