Patterns and correlates of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping in battered women over time

This study investigated the effects of coping with intimate partner violence (IPV) on battered women's mental health and revictimization. Four hundred and six primarily African American, low-income battered women who had experienced IPV within the previous 12 months were interviewed. The correlation between the emotion-focused coping strategies used most frequently and those perceived as most helpful was examined, and results showed that strategies battered women used more frequently were less helpful in dealing with feelings about abuse. The study also examined how battered women's use of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping predicted mental health outcomes (depression, PTSD) and revictimization, and explored how the perceived helpfulness of emotion-focused versus problem-focused strategies predicted mental health outcomes and revictimization. Results suggested that there was no differential effect of type of coping on outcome and that neither the use nor the perceived helpfulness of either type of coping strategy was a significant predictor of outcome.