Research has shown that domestic violence is a considerable social and public health problem particularly for women in poverty. This study examined cognitive and social resilience as mechanisms involved in the violence process. The results were anticipated to show how violence is linked with anxiety by focusing on the role of impaired resilience. Because of poverty’s strong connection with impaired resilience and high levels of violence, it was believed to be crucial to study this process in a poverty sample. One hundred poor women, aged 18 to 65 were interviewed. Preliminary analyses revealed age was the only socio-demographic variable significantly related to anxiety, and therefore, it was used as a control variable in all analyses. The results provided initial support for the proposed model: self-esteem, support satisfaction, and problematic support all mediated the domestic violence-anxiety relation. The most significant implication of the study was that attempts should be taken to bolster poor women’s support and self-esteem through interventions. The results suggest that violence affects relationships with family, friends, and professionals, and that this impaired or problematic support from others may partially explain how women develop anxiety. References