NCJ Number
206900
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 201-210
Date Published
August 2004
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study compared two groups of couples, one group with a history of violence during pregnancy and the other without a violent prenatal history, in terms of rates of various types of partner violence victimization and violence-related injuries before and after pregnancy, as well as changes in the rate of violent victimization due to pregnancy.
Abstract
A substantial girth of research has established that many women are the victims of violent abuse at the hands of their intimate partners, including pregnant women. While the research illuminates the problem of abuse before and during pregnancy, little is known about whether and how partner violence may change when a woman becomes pregnant. Moreover, scant research has focused on examining the partner’s potential victimization by the woman. The current study utilized a convenience sample of 65 pregnant women who were placed with their partners in either the “index couples” group or the “comparison couples” group depending upon whether the women reported violent victimization during pregnancy. Structured face-to-face interviews elicited information on health, aspects of the relationship, paternity of current pregnancy, previous children, and information concerning violent victimization 12 months before pregnancy and during current pregnancy. The Conflict Tactics Scales 2 was also administered to assess rates of partner violence victimization of the women and their male partners. Results of descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses indicated that the comparison men were physically assaulted at higher rates than were their female partners both before and after pregnancy. Index women, on the other hand, experienced higher rates of physical aggression, physical assault, sexual coercion, and physical injuries than their male partners. Psychological aggression increased for both comparison and index couples at the onset of pregnancy. Index women experienced significantly increased rates of sexual violence victimization during pregnancy than did the comparison women. Pregnancy, however, was not associated with increased rates of physical assault or violence-related injuries among either group. The findings have implications for women’s health care workers who should screen women for multiple types of violent victimization over the course of their lives, with attention to the possibility of increased sexual violence during pregnancy. Tables, references