Confronting Violence

A Nursing Study of Two Explanatory Models of Women's Responses to Battering, 1986

Jacquelyn Campbell's nursing dissertation focused on applying theoretical models to explain women's responses to battering, and the development of nursing interventions for women who were battered. The study included two groups of women—97 women who experienced abuse and 96 women who were not abused, but who were considering ending their marital or significant relationships. In comparing the women's responses to battering and their bearing of "learned helplessness" or the "grief" model, Campbell reported low self-esteem in both groups, but more severe depression among the women who were abused. She outlined several nursing care strategies, addressing the needs of women who not only experienced abuse, but also had low self-esteem and severe depression.

Courtesy National Library of Medicine