Attributions and emotional responses of battered women to violent incidents within their relationship

Abstract

This study was designed in an attempt to clarify the unresolved debate surrounding attributions and emotional responses of battered women to violent incidents in their relationships. Thirty two Pakeha battered women who had previously left their violent relationship completed two interviews which investigated the first and last incidents of violence in their relationships. The interviews included guided recall of these incidents and completion of the Four Attributional Dimensions Scale and the Differential Emotions Scale. Attributions changed over time; from internal to external, temporary to stable, controllable to uncontrollable and specific to global. Anger, fear and contempt increased from the beginning to the end of the relationship while guilt and surprise decreased. Change in anger was found to be significantly related to change in stability and globality. No other significant relationships between change in attribution/emotion relationships were identified. The results offer a caution to the clinical application of learned helplessness theory which asserts that these expected changes in attributions result in helplessness and inability to leave. They alsogive only limited support to the notion that changes in attributions and emotions are interrelated. Results are discussed in light of previous research and suggestions are made as to clinical and research implications of the findings.