Ola W. Barnett

Ola W. Barnett is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychology at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California.  She earned her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Psychology at UCLA, specializing in Learning.  Her initial research centered on batterers, and she later studied battered women and dating violence.  She has coauthored two best-selling Sage books (with Alyce D. LaViolette) on why battered women stay with abusive partners.  These books provide a scientific explanation, grounded in learning theory, for understanding the obstacles battered women face in trying to break free.  She remains active in the field of family violence by reviewing articles for a large number of journals and performing as an external grant reviewer for a few organizations.  She serves on the editorial board of the new journal, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice.  She also continues research on the impact of transitional housing on the lives of battered women.