Double binding, abusive intimate partner relationships, and pregnancy.
The purpose of this study was to extend and integrate the process theories of abuse and becoming a mother in order to provide a contextually appropriate perspective for understanding women's behavioural responses to intimate partner abuse during pregnancy. Double binding is proposed as a construct for understanding intimate partner abuse during pregnancy. Double binding refers to the simultaneous and often conflicting psychological and social processes of binding-in to the unborn child and to the abusive intimate partner that women engage in as they perform the developmental tasks associated with becoming a mother while living with an abusive partner. This construct was developed through an inductive-deductive process using clinical experience, a literature review, and qualitative data from 2 studies of abuse during pregnancy. The authors conclude that double binding is a suitable lens through which to interpret pregnant women's behavioural responses to abuse. They offer suggestions regarding clinical practice and research to further develop appropriate interventions incorporating this construct.
Lutz
Kristin F
KF
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Clinical Sciences Center, Wisconsin 53792-2455, USA. kflutz@wisc.edu
Curry
Mary Ann
MA
Robrecht
Linda C
LC
Libbus
M Kay
MK
Bullock
Linda
L
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D004309:Double Bind Interaction; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations / Q000523:psychology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires