Reactions to Violence Among African American Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Victimization

African American (AA) women are victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV) at a disproportionate rate; however, few studies have examined such women's affective responses to violence. An experimental study was conducted to assess the predictive ability of type of simulated IPV and change in self-reported state anxiety on changes in self-reported quality of life (QOL) for 38 AA female survivors of IPV. IPV type and state anxiety change explained a significant portion of the variance in QOL change, R-2 = .16, F(2, 35) = 3.42, p = .05. Data provide indirect evidence that exposure to IPV may be a cue that reminds women of their experiences of violence or the problem of IPV for AA women, which prompts more negative attitudes toward general well-being.