Learned helplessness contributes to post-traumatic stress and depressionSummary:Bargai, Shakhar, and Shalev (2007) designed a correlational study to test the idea that Exposure to violence facilitates learned helplessness, which may contribute to the development of mental illnesses in battered women. This experiment is a correlation experiment because none of the variables involved are manipulated, but measured. They are measuring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), learned helplessness, history of physical and sexual violence, and the presence of a male-dominated background. The researchers' aim was to see if there was a correlation between exposure to violence, learned helplessness, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression in battered women. More specifically, women who have a reported history of abuse. The independent variables consist of the participants' current DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis and the different types of questionnaires and self-reports provided by the researchers. The primary dependent variable of this study was the level of learned helplessness reported by participants, compared to varying levels of severity of PTSD, depression, past abuse, and male-dominated backgrounds reported. In short, the researchers hypothesized that exposure to violence was positively correlated with learned helplessness. They also hypothesized that learned helplessness was associated with a history of physical and sexual violence as well as a male-dominated upbringing. The sample originally included 140 women from 8 battered women's shelters in Israel, all previously involved in an abusive heterosexual relationship. Before the start… middle of paper… beer domination is positively related to learned helplessness and mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder. Each participant was administered several questionnaires and self-assessments appropriate for the subjects being measured. The results confirmed the researchers' hypothesis. Those diagnosed with PTSD and MDD had high correlations with learned helplessness and all other conditions measured. Therefore, researchers concluded that learned helplessness as a result of exposure to violence can lead to the development of mental illnesses. Bibliography Bargai, N., Ben-Shakhar, G., & Shalev, A.Y., (2007). Posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in battered women: The mediating role of learned helplessness. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 276-275. doi: 10.1007/ s10896-007-9078-y