Problem-solving skills of rural battered women

Recent research suggests that battered women may have a problem-solving skill deficit, thereby limiting their ability to prevent and/or effectively deal with future battering incidents. Situations encountered by battered women were analyzed by gathering data of 30 women receiving outpatient mental health treatment and of women who used a domestic violence emergency shelter. These situations were administered in an open-ended questionnaire format to 14 battered and 20 nonbattered women. These subjects were asked to develop as many alternatives as they could for each situation. Nonbattered women generated significantly more total alternatives and effective alternatives than did battered women. Battered subjects were more likely to produce avoidant and dependent responses.