Women's reasons for leaving abusive spouses

Research has focused on factors associated with leaving physically abusive relationships, yet little is known about what the woman thinks when she leaves. Fifty-one formerly battered women from rural and metropolitan areas in two midwestern states described 86 reasons for leaving a physically abusive relationship. During open-ended interviews, women who rated themselves as severely abused spontaneously emphasized leaving as a process. Content analysis resulted in reasons categorized as safety, dependency, and personal growth. Self-report retrospective data from a nonrandom sample limit generalizability of results; however, the awareness and reasoning of the women, coupled with their emphasis on leaving as process and personal growth, suggest the importance of education and support programs for abused women and women at risk for abuse.