Psychopathology and Coping in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Associations with Race and Abuse Severity

The present study examined how race and abuse severity independently and interactively predicted psychopathology and coping in a sample of 206 African-American and White survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Women reported on their exposure to physical violence, their psychological symptoms, and their coping behaviors. White women reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression than African-American women. More severe abuse was generally related to more psychological symptoms and to greater denial. Interactions between race and abuse severity indicated that African-Americans reported fewer psychological symptoms than Whites at lower levels of abuse but not when abuse was very severe. African-Americans reported more coping-related substance use than Whites at the highest level of abuse severity. The implications of the findings for future research and for treatment of IPV survivors are considered.