I was reading this article and truly hope it might be helpful for those with children who are debating whether to stay in abusive relationships. Please read this article: Psychotherapy Brown Bag: Childhood abuse and suicide attempts: Examining the impact of specific forms of abuse on a tragic outcome

I was reading Joiner's (2005) theory and thought it was interesting. “Individuals develop an acquired capability for suicide through repeated exposure to painful and provocative life events. Repeated exposure to such experiences results in habituation to physical pain and to the fear of death, thus increasing fearlessness and the chances that an individual will be able to overcome the evolutionary instinct towards self-preservation.”
“Simply put, suicide attempts are typically very painful and the fear of death is a powerful deterrent to such behaviors. When an individual is repeatedly exposed to physical pain - either his or her own pain or the pain of others - that individual gradually habituates to physical pain, such that it takes more for them to initially sense pain and they can tolerate a greater amount of pain once they feel it. Additionally, exposure to pain appears to have a similar impact on an individual's fear of death, particularly when the pain is self-inflicted. Although the pain in childhood abuse is not self-inflicted, the data indicate that they still have an impact similar to self-inflicted pain, increasing the likelihood that an individual will be able to overcome the pain and fear associated with a suicide attempt.”

If you are in an abusive relationship (even if your child is not abused, but ESPECIALLY if he or she is abused), PLEASE immediately get your child to safety and get him or her counseling as soon as possible. You harm your child and increase his or her risk of suicide as well as dramatically increase the likely he or she will be in an abusive relationship or become an abuser.