ORIGINAL ARTICLE Factors that Influence Life Satisfaction Among Battered Women in Shelters: Those Who Stay Versus Those Who Leave Anat Ben-Porat & Haya Itzhaky Published online: 2 April 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract The study focused on differences between wom- en who left shelters for battered women and returned to their partners, versus those who stayed in the shelter for over 3 months. The study was conducted in battered women’ s shelters in Israel, and examined the contribution of women’ s internal resources (self-esteem and empower- ment) to their life satisfaction, as well as the contribution of integration (participation and commitment) in the shelter at the time of their arrival to their satisfaction with their life. Findings indicate that, among the group of women who stayed in the shelter, personal resources as well as participation and commitment contributed to their life satisfaction. Among the group of women who left the shelter, only commitment contributed to life satisfaction. Keywords Domestic violence . Battered women’ s shelter . Life satisfaction . Self-esteem . Participation . Commitment Since the 1970s, when the problem of violence against women was first recognized as a public concern, it has received increasing attention among professionals, theoret- icians, and researchers all over the world. Over the years, studies on the phenomenon have revealed a continuous increase in the prevalence of domestic violence, and have pointed to its development as a social problem throughout the world (Krishnan et al. 2004). Survey data compiled by the United Nations Statistical Office (2000) disclosed that 28% of women in the USA had been physically attacked by their partner in the last year. In Israel, the findings of a recent study indicate that about 11.2% of all women have been exposed to physical assault by their partners during the course of their lives (Eisikovits et al. 2004). In an attempt to solve the problem of domestic violence and alleviate the distress of the women and their children, services have been established in Israel, as in other countries. These services include assistance for battered women and their children in the community, as well as shelters for battered women outside of the community. In their initial stages of development, shelters viewed provi- sion of physical protection to battered women and their children as their main goal. Over time, it was understood that beyond that goal, the shelter can serve as a therapeutic environment that enables women to expand their resources. As such, the shelter can enhance the woman’ s satisfaction with aspects related to her life. Notwithstanding the diverse and numerous services available to women at shelters, studies have shown that 40% to 60% of them tend to return to their violent partners after leaving the shelter, or after the attempt at separation from their partners (Herbert et al. 1991; Lesser 1990; Strube 1988). The tendency of battered women to return to their violent partners has provided the basis for extensive research literature, in which authors have attempted to shed light on this phenomenon and find the causes for it. Existing studies on differences between women who return to their violent partners and those who separate from them have focused mainly on financial, psychosocial, and situational factors (Eisikovits et al. 1998). Johnson (1992) found that women who leave shelters and return to their partners have lower levels of self-esteem than those who stay. To date, however, differences between those two populations of women have not yet been examined when they arrive at the shelter, in terms of personal resources and the contribution of those resources to their levels of life satisfaction. J Fam Viol (2008) 23:597–604 DOI 10.1007/s10896-008-9182-7 A. Ben-Porat (*) : H. Itzhaky School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel e-mail: anatbp@biu.013.net.il