1. Power and control in the legal system: from marriage/relationship to divorce and custody.
- Author
-
Watson LB and Ancis JR
- Subjects
- Adult, Bullying, Child, Child Care legislation & jurisprudence, Child Custody legislation & jurisprudence, Coercion, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Middle Aged, Psychological Theory, Divorce legislation & jurisprudence, Marriage, Power, Psychological, Spouse Abuse
- Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which abuse that occurred during marriage/relationship continued within divorce and custody-related legal proceedings. Twenty-seven women participated in semistructured interviews. Interviews were analyzed utilizing a grounded theory approach in order to inductively arrive at a theory explaining how abuse dynamics may continue during legal proceedings. Participants identified child support litigation, custody and visitation battles, intimidation/harassment, deliberately prolonging the case, manipulating finances, and distortions of information as methods by which their exes sought to maintain power and control. Counseling implications are described.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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