“Anything I do now feels like an act of resilience”: adversity, resilience, and wellbeing in female survivors of domestic abuse
Background: The study sought to explore the under-researched areas of adversity, resilience, and wellbeing in female survivors of Domestic Abuse (DA). We employed a multi-phase mixed-methods research design comprising a cross-sectional online quantitative survey in phase one and qualitative remote interviews in phase two. Method: In phase one, a convenience sample of 119 adult female participants, 63 who had experienced DA and 56 in a control group, completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire, the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience scale. In phase two, 8 of the participants from phase one who had experienced DA were recruited for semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences in depth and these were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: In phase one, survivors of DA were found to have experienced significantly more ACEs and to have higher levels of anxiety and stress than the control group. Survivors of DA were more likely to have experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and emotional neglect and be exposed to substance abuse or alcoholism and mental illness within their household in childhood than the control group. Resilience was found to moderate the relationship between ACEs and mental wellbeing, such that resilience is less protective against poor wellbeing in those with high ACEs. Resilience was also found to be a stronger predictor of mental wellbeing than ACEs. In phase two, the thematic framework included five major themes: Early life challenges and adversity, Coping strategies, Support and judgement, Resilience and development, and Psychological distress, health, and wellbeing. Conclusion: Results indicate that early life adversity is an additional concern for adult female survivors of DA. They also highlight the importance of resilience, coping, and support and indicate areas of psychological distress and need where services and helping professionals can support survivors.
domestic abuse, adversity, resilience, mental well-being, adverse childhood experiences, ACEs
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