A nursing investigation of the coping responses of a sample of battered women who have entered a transition house in Nova Scotia

Salyzyn, Deborah (1990) A nursing investigation of the coping responses of a sample of battered women who have entered a transition house in Nova Scotia. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study examined how a sample of women dealt with the stress of living in a battering relationship. Interviews were conducted with 35 battered women who were residents of one of four transition houses in Nova Scotia. A Demographic/Socioeconomic Interview Guide and the Health and Daily Living Form (Billings and Moos, 1981) were used to collect data on the women’s profile, their coping responses and their appraisals of the responses. – The results indicated that a) women were using a variety of coping responses, but there seemed to be an increased reliance on responses which were avoidance/emotion focused, b) utilization of coping responses was not necessarily congruent with appraisals of helpfulness or unhelpfulness, and c) coping responses were related to income, marital status, time in relationship, and residence (city, town, rural area). – It was concluded that there is a need for battered women to increase their coping repertoires. Increased coping repertoires may allow for the utilization of responses which a) are considered healthier in terms of adaptational outcome, b) may be appraised by the women as helpful in reducing their stress, c) may help to decrease or eliminate battering, and d) may assist the woman to terminate the battering relationship is necessary. This study also makes several recommendations for nursing practice and education, and highlights areas requiring further research.

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