3 Reasons why women, and perhaps all abused humans, remain in abusive relationships…
Saturday, January 13, 2023.
The most common form of relationship abuse is psychological…
Women stay in abusive relationships due to a combination of
Low Self-Esteem.
Poor Alternatives.
Deference to How Much They Have Already Invested in the Relationship.
Despite being abused, many women (and men) find it hard to leave their partner.
Only 12% of the women in this study who were abused — psychologically or physically — left their partner within two months.
Sadly, many women felt they were not worthy of a better life.
Their low self-esteem was sometimes the result of experiencing childhood abuse — this appeared to raise their tolerance for relational abuse.
How the study was conducted
The conclusions come from a study of 323 women, all of whom reported at least one incident of abuse, whether physical or psychological.
To be specific, psychological abuse included experiences such as he “called me fat or ugly” or “insulted or swore at me”.
Most of the abuse reported in the research project was psychological, not physical.
The results showed that a whopping 88% of women were still with an abusive partner over two months later.
The researchers elaborated:
“…women experiencing high levels of psychological distress may not feel efficacious in their ability to leave their partners.”
Childhood abuse was also a significant aggravating factor:
“…women who were abused in childhood were more satisfied with their current relationships than women who were not abused in childhood.
It is possible that women with childhood abuse histories are more satisfied in their relationships than women without childhood abuse histories because they have more tolerance for mistreatment based on early life experiences and resulting interpersonal schemas.”
Being abused had an unusual effect on the women in this study: it encouraged them to work even harder on their relationship…
“…the more psychological abuse women are exposed to, the more energy and effort they put forth to resolve the conflict, thus leading to increases in perceived investment.”
Consequently, the more these women invested in their abusive intimate relationships, the more likely they were to stay in them.
Be well, stay kind and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Edwards, K. M., Gidycz, C. A., & Murphy, M. J. (2011). College Women’s Stay/Leave Decisions in Abusive Dating Relationships: A Prospective Analysis of an Expanded Investment Model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(7), 1446-1462. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510369131
