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Low self-esteem and depression are common among domestic violence victims (e.g., Orava, McLeod, & Sharpe, 1996). Physical and verbal abuse may reinforce victims' sense of helplessness by stripping away their real social roles. Linville (1985, 1987) hypothesized that individuals who maintain high self-complexity (i.e., many roles within their self-concept and little overlap among them) are buffered against affective reactions to stressful events. Using Linville's measure, we investigated self-complexity among abused and nonabused women in a cross-sectional design. Given the restrictive nature of domestic violence, we predicted a negative relationship between abuse (physical and verbal) and self-complexity. We also hypothesized that abused women with high self-complexity would show greater self-esteem and lower levels of depression. Our findings show a negative relationship between amount of physical violence and self-complexity, and are consistent with a buffering effect of high self-complexity for low self-esteem. Clinical implications for domestic violence are discussed.
It is indisputable that domestic violence continues to be a widespread social problem. According to the Commonwealth Fund's 1998 Survey of Women's Health, nearly one-third (31%) of American women report being hit, kicked, choked, punched, or otherwise physically abused by a spouse or partner during their lifetimes, and approximately three percent reported incidents of abuse during the past year. Furthermore, this problem is on the rise; the most rapid growth in domestic relations caseloads appears to be occurring in domestic violence filings (National Center for the State Courts, 1996). Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the antecedents and consequences of domestic violence for both the perpetrators and the victims. The present research is focused on social-cognitive mechanisms that may influence victims' reactions in the aftermath of domestic violence, specifically spouse or partner abuse.
Not surprisingly, victims of domestic violence show lowered levels of self-esteem and elevated levels of depression. For example, Orava, McLeod, & Sharpe (1996) found that compared to a control group of nonabused women, abused women suffered lower self-esteem and greater depression, with one-third of formerly abused women scoring in the severely depressed range (greater than 30) on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1972). Moreover, Cascardi and O'Leary (1992) found that the frequency and severity of physical abuse correlated negatively with self-esteem, and positively with depressive symptoms. It is easy to understand...