Self-efficacy, emotional loneliness, and psychological distress among women undergoing a domestic violence intervention

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a domestic violence intervention addressing abused mothers in England. It was hypothesized that (a) the women would improve significantly on various measures after the intervention, b) changes in the women’s psychological distress would be mediated by self-efficacy, emotional loneliness, social isolation, and parenting competence, and c) self-efficacy would mediate changes in parental competence, emotional loneliness, and social isolation. Ninety-five mothers of low socio-economic status, experiencing domestic violence completed questionnaires before and after the intervention: General Health Questionnaire, Loneliness Scale, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Distance from Child Scale. Post intervention participants improved in self-efficacy, psychological distress, emotional loneliness, and parenting competence. Self-efficacy at post-intervention mediated post-intervention change in psychological distress, emotional loneliness, and parenting competence, while emotional loneliness mediated change in psychological distress, and psychological distress mediated change in self-efficacy. The present study identified mothers’ pre-intervention vulnerability characteristics (high psychological distress and emotional loneliness; low parental competence and self-efficacy) and mechanisms by which such characteristics may affect outcomes. The findings suggest that interventions focusing on strengthening self-efficacy and reducing emotional loneliness may support the most disadvantaged of maltreated women toward attaining more positive outcomes.