Utilizing Tenets of Social Cognitive Theory to Facilitate Stay–Leave Decision Making in Victims of Partner Abuse

Abstract

This article argues for the increased use of tenets of social cognitive theory (SCT) when studying stay–leave decision-making processes for victims of partner abuse. SCT is widely utilized to explain and predict human behavior in a variety of contexts including political reform and social activism against oppressive governments. Further, different conceptualizations of control (e.g., empowerment) are being widely used in partner abuse research. However, self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies are rarely utilized to predict how people will try to exercise control over themselves and their surrounding environments within intimate relationships characterized by oppression. The absence of SCT within partner abuse literature is paradoxical given that multilevel systematic oppression of groups of people (e.g., women, racial minorities) contributes to the high prevalence of partner violence. The article reviews the literature on stay–leave decisions to argue that variations in combined self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs may explain variance in victims’ responses to partner abuse. The status of research is critiqued, a future research agenda is presented, and clinical recommendations are suggested to aid the advancement of SCT applications in the context of abusive relationships.