Loneliness and intimate partner violence:antecedents of alienation of abused women.
This study explored the perceived causes of loneliness of abused women. Eighty women, victims of domestic abuse, were compared with 84 women from the general population, who have had no history of abusive relationships. A 30-item-yes/no loneliness questionnaire was utilized in order to compare the causes of loneliness in the two samples. The factors that comprise the causes of loneliness are: Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/significant separations, and Social marginality. Results confirmed the hypothesis that abused women, indeed, perceived the causes of their loneliness significantly differently than women in the general population do. The abused women scored significantly higher on all the subscales.
Rokach
Ami
A
The Institute for the Study and Treatment of Psychological Stress, 104 Combe Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. arokach@yorku.ca
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018585:Battered Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002170:Canada; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015984:Causality; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012934:Social Isolation; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology