title: Power and control in the legal system: from marriage/relationship to divorce and custody.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which abuse that occurred during marriage/relationship continued within divorce and custody-related legal proceedings. Twenty-seven women participated in semistructured interviews. Interviews were analyzed utilizing a grounded theory approach in order to inductively arrive at a theory explaining how abuse dynamics may continue during legal proceedings. Participants identified child support litigation, custody and visitation battles, intimidation/harassment, deliberately prolonging the case, manipulating finances, and distortions of information as methods by which their exes sought to maintain power and control. Counseling implications are described.
authors: Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA. watsonlb@umkc.edu
authors: Laurel B
authors: LB
authors: Watson
authors: Julie R
authors: JR
authors: Ancis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058445:Bullying; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002655:Child Custody / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003068:Coercion; D004243:Divorce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011582:Psychological Theory; D013179:Spouse Abuse