NCJ Number
213261
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 221-239
Date Published
March 2006
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between women’s experience of several types of intimate partner violence and symptoms of depression both before and during pregnancy.
Abstract
Main findings indicated that women who experienced psychological abuse in the year before pregnancy were not at increased risk for depression, except when the psychological abuse was very frequent. However, pregnant women who experienced psychological abuse did have elevated levels of depression, regardless of the frequency of the abuse. Women who experienced any kind of physical or sexual assault either before or during pregnancy also experienced higher levels of depression compared to their nonvictim peers. The findings suggest that psychological intimate partner abuse may be linked to depression symptoms among nonpregnant women only if the psychological abuse occurs frequently. Pregnant women, on the other hand, are vulnerable to depression symptoms even when they experience low levels of psychological abuse. The results suggest that women should be provided with routine screening for both violent victimization and depression within the context of women’s health care or related services. Participants were 95 women recruited through convenience sampling from 2 North Carolina prenatal care clinics serving a predominately low-income population. Participants completed a structured research interview during their 6th or 7th month of pregnancy. Interviews focused on women’s depressive symptoms, experiences of intimate partner violence, and sociodemographic characteristics. Data analysis involved bivariate and descriptive statistics. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal approach to examining the relationship between intimate partner violence and women’s long-term health and well-being. Tables, references