Little is known about the impact of intimate male partner abuse on the mental health of African-American women. However, what is known is that African-American women in general are reluctant to seek formal help for psychosocial problems. The question then becomes how are African-American women survivors coping with experiences of partner abuse and its related mental health problems? In a sample of 126 African-American women survivors of partner abuse, this study examined partner abuse, mental health, and coping. The study involved a secondary analysis of data collected from African-American women who participated in a study on alcohol aggression conducted in the Washington, DC area. The intervening variables in the study were social support and spirituality. Social support refers to the perceived availability of components of support from interpersonal relationships. Levels of spirituality were assessed according to items that indicate experience rather than beliefs or behaviors. A significant finding was the effect of partner abuse on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Partner abuse remained significant for PTSD symptoms even after controlling for the effects of social support and spirituality. The results supported earlier studies indicating that there was a relationship between the experience of partner abuse and mental health problems. The women reported both social support and spirituality to be prominent dimensions in their lives. References