To go or not to go, that is the question : an empirical analysis of battered women's decision making processes while residing in a domestic violence shelter

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that are predictive of battered women's intent to return to their abusive relationships before exiting a domestic violence shelter. This study also sought to examine those factors that predict domestic violence victims' actual stay/leave behaviors. Specifically, this study sought to replicate and extend the model of research conducted by Choice and Lamke (1999), who examined stay/leave decisions in abusive dating relationships. In the present study, residents of various domestic violence shelters completed a set of questionnaires measuring the question "Will I be better off' and its four components, Relationship Distress, Quality of Alternatives, Irretrievable Investments, and Subjective Norm, and the question "Can I do it" and its two components, Personal Resources/Barriers, and Structural Resources/Barriers. Multiple regression analyses revealed statistically significant relationship between battered women's intent to return and the constructs Quality of Alternatives and Personal Resources/Barriers. However, logistic regression analyses indicated that the constructs, Structural Investments in Marriage and Structural Resources/Barriers, were predictive of battered women's actual stay/leave behaviors once exiting domestic violence shelters. Findings from this study also indicate that battered women's intent to return to their relationships was a significant predictor in their post-shelter stay/leave behaviors. Recommendations for assessment and intervention with battered women residing in domestic violence shelters are provided.