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Sophia's crisis leads to consideration of the concept of 'natural
and formal crisis management.' Sophia's behavior during this battering
episode can be seen as 'natural crisis management', a process that is an organic
part of the human response to traumatic life events. Sophia was not a helpless
victim; she actively  resisted her husband's violent treatment. Recognizing her
limits in dealing with the event, she sought outside help. She considered the
advice received, decided to follow it, tried some further tactics of talking and
'being nice' to resolve the conflict, was met with resistance, interpreted what
was happening as being 'treated like a dog', and finally decided on suicide as
the only means left for ending her pain. In Antonovsky's perspective, her 'sense
of coherence' was shaken; the social support she sought was ineffective. She was
no longer in control except for her power to kill herself. Therefore, she resolved
her crisis self-destructively.
Another woman said that her usual way of coping with the trauma of battering was by overeating, a device
she also used before she was ever battered. The terms 'illness', 'unhealthy',
or 'destructive' can certainly be used to denote addictions and assaults on oneself
and others in response to the stress of being battered. Regardless of how such
negative coping devices are labeled, however, the women's accounts in this chapter
support the earlier suggestion that stress, crisis, and illness (physical, emotional,
mental) are interactionally, not causally related (see Figure 4.1, p. 70). Figure
4.1 suggests that stress not only precedes but also follows a battering episode,
and that emotional crisis may or may not be part of the total episode. These findings
also support the work of Hilberman (1980) in which mental and emotional disturbances
of battered women were found to follow rather than precede battering.
Analysis
thus far reveals not so much a failure of coping by individuals as it does the
limitations and misdirection of personal coping responses (natural crisis management)
to certain traumatic life events. That is, suicide, assault, addictions, and emotional
disturbance are forms of coping, though most people would regard them as unhealthy
or ineffective (Caplan and Grunebaum 1967; Hoff 1989: 60-2). Put another way,
'natural crisis management' needs to be supplemented by 'formal crisis management',
assistance from sources beyond the individual and immediate family.
The
need for both personal coping strategies and social support has profound
implications for the successful resolution of crises around battering. In Sophia's
case the initial support she received from her family was misdirected, e.g. 'You
go back ... he won't do it anymore ... Welfare won't support you….Here's
$10, go buy a pizza and forget everything.' Only after a near-fatal suicide attempt
were institutional networks mobilized, and these only for emergency rescue purposes.
Prior to this destructive crisis outcome, however, crisis management did not go
beyond the 'natural' level. The suicidal outcome of the crisis suggests that 'formal
crisis management' was needed as well. The distinctions and relationship between
natural and formal crisis management as applied to battering are illustrated in
the Figure below.
 -Hoff, Lee Ann, Battered Women as Survivors, Routledge: London, 1990.
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Personal
Reflection Exercise #2
The preceding section contained information
about battered women as crisis managers. Write three case study examples regarding
how you might use the content of this section in your practice.
Online Continuing Education QUESTION
16
In the book, Battered Women as Survivors, the author divides crisis
management into what two categories? Record the letter of the correct answer the .
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