scholarly journals Experiences of Intimate Partner and Neighborhood Violence and Their Association With Mental Health in Pregnant Women

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 938-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Barcelona de Mendoza ◽  
Emily W. Harville ◽  
Jane Savage ◽  
Gloria Giarratano
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Neighborhood Violence ◽  
Probable Depression

Both intimate partner violence and neighborhood crime have been associated with worse mental health outcomes, but less is known about cumulative effects. This association was studied in a sample of pregnant women who were enrolled in a study of disaster exposure, prenatal care, and mental and physical health outcomes between 2010 and 2012. Women were interviewed about their exposure to intimate partner violence and perceptions of neighborhood safety, crime, and disorder. Main study outcomes included symptoms of poor mental health; including depression, pregnancy-specific anxiety (PA), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of mental health with adjustment for confounders. Women who experienced high levels of intimate partner violence and perceived neighborhood violence had increased odds of probable depression in individual models. Weighted high cumulative (intimate partner and neighborhood) experiences of violence were also associated with increased odds of having probable depression when compared with those with low violence. Weighed high cumulative violence was also associated with increased odds of PTSD. This study provides additional evidence that cumulative exposure to violence is associated with poorer mental health in pregnant women.

Intimate Partner Violence Exposure and Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Housing Insecurity

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110435
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Marçal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Adolescent Depression ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Depression And Anxiety

The present study investigated pathways from childhood exposure to mothers’ intimate partner violence (IPV) to adolescent depression and anxiety. Further, the study examined whether housing insecurity mediated the link from IPV exposure to mental health outcomes. Data came from the Years 5, 9 and 15 interviews of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study; the analytic sample was limited to mothers with at least partial custody of children ( N = 2,425). Structural equation modeling with latent variables investigated research questions. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) identified observed indicators for latent constructs, and a path analysis tested direct and indirect pathways from IPV exposure to adolescent depression and anxiety. IPV exposure at age five was associated with increased housing insecurity at age nine, which was associated with increased adolescent depression and anxiety at age 15. Although IPV exposure was not directly associated with either mental health outcome, housing insecurity mediated the link from IPV exposure to adolescent depression. Findings point to the long-term consequences of exposure to intimate partner violence in childhood, highlighting pathways to mental disorder in adolescence. The present study emphasizes the need for policies that protect survivors of IPV from eviction and homelessness, empower them to leave abusers without fear of losing their housing, and promote healthy child development in the wake of family violence.

Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Outcomes Among Hispanic Women in the United States: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110438
Author(s):  
Miranda E. Reyes ◽  
Lauren Simpson ◽  
Tami P. Sullivan ◽  
Ateka A. Contractor ◽  
Nicole H. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Hispanic Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Scoping Reviews

Hispanic women in the United States experience disproportionate mental health impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV). Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines, we synthesized the existing knowledge based on IPV and mental health outcomes among Hispanic women in the United States. In May 2020, we searched five electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, PILOTS, PSYCInfo, PSYCArticles, and EMBASE). From the initial 1,180 results, 13 articles met inclusion criteria for this review (written in English, empirical study, focus on the experiences of victimization from an intimate partner, focus on mental health outcomes occurring in the person experiencing IPV, included women who identify as Hispanic, and included participants residing in the United States), representing 4,060 women. Findings highlighted significant positive associations between IPV ( n = 13; 4,060 women) and general mental health outcomes ( n = 4; 759 women) as well as the specific outcomes of depression ( n = 12; 2,661 women), anxiety ( n = 1; 274 women), post-traumatic stress disorder ( n = 3; 515 women), and substance misuse ( n = 2; 1,673 women) among Hispanic women in the United States. Limitations included heterogeneity across Hispanic populations and methodological differences between studies. Key avenues for future research were identified, including the need to examine mental health outcomes understudied in relation to IPV among Hispanic women (e.g., personality, obsessive-compulsive, and eating disorders) and to identify cultural and demographic factors (e.g., nativity status, level of acculturation) that may influence relations between IPV and mental health outcomes among Hispanic women. Such research can inform prevention and intervention efforts aimed at improving mental health among Hispanic women in the Untied States experiencing IPV.

scholarly journals Trauma Exposure and Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Pregnant Women in Liberia

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn M. Sileo ◽  
Trace S. Kershaw ◽  
Shantesica Gilliam ◽  
Erica Taylor ◽  
Apoorva Kommajosula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Wife Beating ◽  
Anxious Attachment ◽  
Theoretical Understanding

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global threat to women’s health and may be elevated among those exposed to traumatic events in post-conflict settings, such as Liberia. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators between lifetime exposure to traumatic events (i.e., war-related trauma, community violence) with recent experiences of IPV among 183 young, pregnant women in Monrovia, Liberia. Hypothesized mediators included mental health (depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms), insecure attachment style (anxious and avoidant attachment), and attitudes indicative of norms of violence (attitudes justifying wife beating). We tested a parallel multiple mediation model using the PROCESS method with bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapping to test confidence intervals (CI). Results show that 45% of the sample had experienced any physical, sexual, or emotional IPV in their lifetime, and 32% in the 2 months prior to the interview. Exposure to traumatic events was positively associated with recent IPV severity (β = .40, p < .01). Taken together, depression, anxious attachment style, and justification of wife beating significantly mediated the relationship between exposure to traumatic events and experience of IPV (β = .15, 95% CI = [0.03, 0.31]). Only anxious attachment style (β = .07, 95% CI = [0.03, 0.16]) and justification of wife beating (β = .05, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.16]) were identified as individual mediators. This study reinforces pregnancy as an important window for both violence and mental health screening and intervention for young Liberian women. Furthermore, it adds to our theoretical understanding of mechanisms in which long-term exposure to traumatic events may lead to elevated rates of IPV in Liberia, and points to the need for trauma-informed counseling and multilevel gender transformative public health approaches to address violence against women.

The Influence of Intimate Partner Violence on Pregnancy Symptoms

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 523-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Özlem Can Gürkan ◽  
Zübeyde Ekşi ◽  
Derya Deniz ◽  
Hasan Çırçır
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Economic Abuse

The current literature contains few studies conducted on the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on pregnancy symptoms. Does being subjected to IPV during pregnancy increase the incidence of pregnancy-related symptoms? The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of IPV on pregnancy-related symptoms. The study was conducted as comparative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research with a total of 370 participants. Data were collected using the Domestic Violence Against Women Screening Form, the Pregnancy Symptoms Inventory (PSI), and a descriptive questionnaire. The types of IPV the women in the study had experienced during pregnancy were, in order of frequency, verbal abuse (31.1 %; n = 115), economic abuse (25.9 %; n = 96), physical violence (8.4 %; n = 31), and sexual abuse (5.9%; n = 22). The PSI scores for the pregnant women subjected to physical violence related to gastrointestinal system symptoms ( p < .05), cardiovascular system symptoms ( p < .05), mental health symptoms ( p = 0), neurological system symptoms ( p < .05), urinary system symptoms ( p < .01), and tiredness or fatigue ( p = 0); their total PSI scores ( p = 0) were significantly higher statistically than those of women who did not experience physical violence during pregnancy. The scores of the pregnant women subjected to sexual abuse related to mental health symptoms ( p < .05), and their total PSI scores ( p < .05) were significantly higher than those of women who did not experience sexual abuse. The scores of the pregnant women subjected to economic abuse related to tiredness or fatigue ( p < .01) and their mental health symptom scores ( p < .05) were significantly higher than those of women who did not experience economic abuse. Our results showed that women subjected to IPV during pregnancy experienced a higher incidence of pregnancy symptoms.

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