Emotional numbing weakens abused inner‐city women's resiliency resources

Abstract

Conservation of resources theory (S. E. Hobfoll, 1988, 1999) hypothesizes that loss of resiliency resources can contribute to abused women's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which, in turn, contribute to a further loss of resources, which can make abused women even more vulnerable to future stressors. This study investigates the impact of PTSD symptoms on abused women's future loss of resources—resources that women both value and need to aid their ongoing adjustment. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms contributed to future resource loss in abused women, even when controlling for the effects of prior resource loss and depression. Emotional numbing symptoms of PTSD accounted most for women's resource loss. Findings highlight the importance of research and intervention that more directly examines the link between emotions and resource loss.