A Preliminary Investigation of the Influence of Subjective Norms and Relationship Commitment on Stages of Change in Female Intimate Partner Violence Victims

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a prevalent and serious problem throughout the world, causing devastating mental and physical health problems for victims. Recent research has begun to focus on factors that may influence women's decisions to stay or leave their abusive partners, as interventions for batterers has only resulted in minimal success in reducing IPV. Therefore, this study preliminarily examined the influence of women's perceptions of their social network members' subjective norms and their relationship commitment on stages of change to end an abusive relationship among a community sample of female IPV victims (N = 84). Results showed that subjective norms and women's relationship commitment were associated with women's stages of change. Relationship commitment did not mediate the relation between subjective norms and stages of change. These findings indicate that a number of factors contribute to women's stay/leave decision-making process, and close social network members could be included in interventions designed to keep women safe.