Remaining in an abusive relationship

Question 1

How do personal dispositions influence an individual’s willingness to stay with an abusive partner?

Answer 1

• Masochistic tendencies, pathological personalities, depressed self-esteem, and learned helplessness are assumed to be associated with individuals staying in abusive relationships.
• This explanation tends to ignore or downplay structural factors and focuses on internal causes of an individual’s situation.

Question 2

What is the role of the nature of interdependence in individuals choosing to stay with abusive partners?

Answer 2

• Decisions to stay or end a relationship are mediated by commitment, influenced by satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size.
• The investment model emphasizes structural features over individual dispositions, providing a critical test of commitment in completely unsatisfying relationships.
• Nonvoluntary dependence involves staying in deeply unsatisfying relationships due to associated heavy costs.

Question 3

What is the investment model of commitment?

Answer 3

• Based on interdependence theory, it distinguishes between satisfaction and commitment.
• Satisfaction level evaluates the relationship favorably, while commitment level determines the intention to maintain the relationship.
• Commitment is influenced by satisfaction, responsibility attribution for abuse, comparison level, alternative quality, and investment size.

Question 4

What are the hypotheses related to commitment in abusive relationships?

Answer 4

• Feelings of commitment are associated with limited or poor-quality alternatives, greater investment, and greater satisfaction.
• Actual stay/leave behavior is strongly associated with commitment level.
• The links between stay/leave behavior and investment model variables are primarily indirect, mediated through commitment.

Question 5

What were the findings related to commitment among battered women?

Answer 5

• Battered women reported stronger commitment when less dissatisfied, having positive feelings for the partner, forming benign attributions regarding abuse, experiencing less severe abuse, and being with less violent/unstable men.
• Commitment was greater among women with poorer alternatives and greater investments.
• The decision to return to a battering partner was strongly related to commitment level, poor-quality alternatives, and greater investments.

Question 6

What conclusions can be drawn regarding non-voluntary dependence in relationships?

Answer 6

• Substantial investments, absence of decent alternatives, and remaining vestiges of satisfaction promote commitment in non-voluntary involvements.
• High investments and poor alternatives may make the simple relationship between satisfaction and stay/leave decisions irrelevant.
• Commitment partially mediates the effects of alternatives on stay/leave behavior, acting as a barrier beyond conscious feelings.