What physical and psychological price must women pay when staying beside their abusing partner?

Abstract

This article presents a review of the empirical literature examining several topics related to the intimate partner abuse against the women: a) numerous factors associated with the stay of the battered woman with her aggressor, the explanatory main theories of this subject (theories focused on the decision process making and theories based on emotional dependency and psychopathological consequences of the domestic violence), and these theories are integrated according to the longitudinal course of domestic violence and the emotional different responses in the victims; b) the physical and psychopathological consequences of domestic violence on the woman; and c) the psychopathological severity according to the type and circumstances of abuse. Implications of this study for clinical practice and future research in this field are commented upon.