Thesis advisor: Lisa A. Goodman / At the vulnerable time of separation, many survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) enter into family courts in search of protection for themselves and their children. However, they may instead face a distressing court process in which they must confront the person who abused them and encounter legal determinations that place them and their families in danger. As many survivors – particularly those who are mothers - have no choice but to engage in the family court system to address matters such as divorce and child custody, this legal institution serves as an important gatekeeper to safety. Thus, it is essential to understand why survivors repeatedly report such - often extreme - negative experiences. A growing number of qualitative studies point to legal abuse -- abusive partners’ use of court processes to enact coercive control -- as an overlooked, yet critical mechanism through which survivors and their children are harmed during family court processes. To shed light on the role of this pernicious process, this study 1) established an ecologically and psychometrically valid measure of legal abuse, 2) used the measure to explore the psychological correlates of legal abuse for survivors, and 3) leveraged a mixed-methods approach to investigate the vocational, economic, and related mental health factors associated with legal abuse. Results pave the way for further research and policy efforts that recognize and respond to legal abuse in family court. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.