Staying or Leaving: The Dialectics of Reconstructing Couple Relationships Following Intimate Partner Violence

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Intimate partner violence (IPV) discourse often assumes relationship termination and separation.
• This assumption is challenged by couples who choose to remain together despite IPV.
• Understanding the complexities of staying together post-IPV is crucial for relationship rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the meanings couples attribute to remaining in their marital relationship after IPV.
• To explore the efforts couples invest in rehabilitating their relationship post-IPV.
• To analyze the decision-making process and stages involved when couples stay together after IPV.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive phenomenological analysis of 24 in-depth interviews with 12 couples.
• Couples had stayed together and were free of physical violence for at least one year.
• Separate interviews allowed individual narratives and reflections on the relationship.

Main Results:

• Identified three key stages: separation/reassessment, negotiating a new relationship contract, and resuming cohabitation.
• The process is non-linear, involving contradictions and paradoxes between opposing forces (e.g., fear vs. hope, individuality vs. connection).
• Couples actively engaged in individual changes and therapy to reconstruct the marital relationship.

Conclusions:

• Staying together after IPV is a dialectic process requiring negotiation of individual and couple identities.
• The legitimacy of couples with IPV history living together warrants consideration.
• Interventions should balance empowering choices with risk assessment for couples navigating post-IPV relationship rehabilitation.