The impact of specific battering experiences on the self-esteem of abused women

This study examined the self-esteem of 48 women who were identified as battered and compared them to a group of 48 nonbattered women. As expected, the group of battered women experienced lower self-esteem than the nonbattered women. Four clusters of battering experiences were also identified: Physical Abuse, Emotional/Controlling Abuse, Sexual/Emotional Abuse, and Miscellaneous Abuse. Analyses indicated that Emotional/Controlling abuse was the only abuse cluster that was significantly related to lower self-esteem. The findings suggest that abuse that is controlling in nature might play a significant role in the feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness noted in battered women and may contribute to the difficulty that some battered women have in terminating their abusive relationships.