Enduring love: A grounded formal theory of women's experience of domestic violence

Using a grounded formal theory approach, 13 qualitative research reports we re analyzed with the goal of synthesizing a middle-range theory of women's responses to violent relationships. The combined sample numbered 282 ethnic ally and geographically diverse women ages 16-67. Within cultural contexts that normalized relationship violence while promoting idealized romance, th ese women dealt with the incongruity of violence in their relationships as a basic Process of enduring love. In response to shifting definitions of th eir relationship situations, many women moved through four phases, which be gan with discounting early violence for the sake of their romantic commitme nt ("This is what I wanted"), progressed to immobilization and demoralizati on in the face of increasingly unpredictable violence that was endured by t he careful monitoring of partner behavior and the stifling of self ("The mo re I do, the worse I am"), shifted to a perspective that redefined the situ ation as unacceptable ("I had enough"), and finally moved out of the relati onship and toward a new life ("I was finding me"). Variations in the manife station and duration of these phases were found to be linked to personal, s ociopolitical, and cultural contexts. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.