RESUMEN
This article examines the individual and social construction of empowerment for battered women who choose to stay with their abusers through a critical examination of the images of battered women who stay, constructed in the professional literature on various ecological levels, and a proposal of a constructivist model for empowering battered women who choose to stay that balances between their needs and rights. The model includes dimensions of physical and emotional distance as well as a time dimension. Key themes related to battered women's options along these dimensions are presented.
Asunto(s)
Mujeres Maltratadas/psicología , Conducta de Elección , Violencia Doméstica/psicología , Matrimonio/psicología , Violencia Doméstica/prevención & control , Femenino , Humanos , Teoría de Construcción Personal , Psicoterapia/métodos , AutoimagenRESUMEN
The purpose of this article is to examine the role of moral feelings--guilt and shame--in the emergence and aftermath of intimate violence, and the way in which these emotions affect the self and behaviors of those involved. This is a phenomenological study using content analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 male batterers and their female partners. The findings indicate that the extent of authenticity and assumption of responsibility concerning moral feelings will determine whether these will or will not lead to intimate violence. Thus it becomes possible to trace five alternative paths of the relationship between moral feelings and intimate violence. Implications for theorizing and future research about the role of moral feelings in intimate violence are suggested.
