Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, and PTSD Among Pregnant Latina Women

Abstract

PURPOSE We undertook a study to describe factors related to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among pregnant Latinas who were or were not exposed to intimate partner violence. METHODSWe interviewed 210 pregnant Latinas attending prenatal clinics located in Los Angeles, California. Latinas who did and did not have histories of intimate partner violence were recruited. We then assessed the women for strengths, adverse social behavioral circumstances, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. RESULTSSignifi cantly more women exposed to intimate partner violence scored at or above the cutoff point for depression than women who were not (41% vs 18.6%; P <.001). Signifi cantly more women exposed to intimate partner violence scored at or above the cutoff point for PTSD than women who were not (16% vs 7.6%; P <.001). Lack of mastery, which measures feelings of being in control of forces that affect life (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% confi dence interval [CI], 0.62-0.84), a history of trauma not associated with intimate partner violence (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.08-1.63), and exposure to intimate partner violence (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.16-5.11) were associated with depression after adjusting for age, language of interview, and site effects. Stress (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.34-2.2) and a history of trauma (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.03-2.04) were independently associated with PTSD, whereas higher income was associated with decreased risk of PTSD (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.02-0.63), after adjusting for age, language of interview, and site effects.CONCLUSIONS Intimate partner violence was signifi cantly associated with depression and PTSD but was associated with depression only after controlling for other factors in the multivariate model. The risk for depression declined with greater mastery but increased with a history of trauma or exposure to intimate partner violence. Stress, a history of trauma not associated with intimate partner violence, and lower income were all independently associated with increased risk for PTSD. INTRODUCTIONA pproximately 1.5 million women in the United States experience intimate partner violence every year. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] The prevalence among pregnant women is estimated at 5.2%.14 Thus, intimate partner violence is at least as common as gestational diabetes (2% to 3%) and approaches rates of preeclampsia (5.7% to 14.3%). 15 Moreover, 23% to 52% of women who experienced abuse during pregnancy were battered in the year before conception. 5,16,17 Women abused during pregnancy have 3 times the odds of attempted or completed homicide, 18 are more likely to have unplanned pregnancies and seek pregnancy care after 20 weeks, and are at greater risk for adverse birth outcomes 19 and maternal complications. [20][21][22][23] Intimate partner violence is also associated with such adverse health behaviors as smoking [24][25][26] and problem drinking. 26,27 The prevalence of intimate partner violence among Latinas in the United States during pregnancy and the perin...

Depression in Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

“…However, once the frequency of abuse was considered, the findings revealed that psychological abuse was significantly associated with depression but not physical or sexual abuse. A consistent finding of other studies has been that the longer abuse endures in an abusive relationship the more it is significantly associated with depression (Lindhorst & Beadnell, 2011;Rodriguez et al, 2008). …”

“…Little or no social support. There is much evidence that abused women are particularly vulnerable to depression if they lack social support (J. C. Campbell, et al, 1997;MburiaMwalili, et al, 2010;Rodriguez, et al, 2008;Wong, et al, 2011). Social support includes various forms of support including tangible resources, a support network and perceived support, which are extremely important as they act as buffers, especially after a person has experienced a stressful life event (Cohen & Hoberman, 1983).…”

Depressive Symptoms and Violence Exposure: Contributors to Repeat Pregnancies Among Adolescents

“…Prenatal depression was found to increase fivefold and postpartum depression to increase fourfold among lower income, English-and Spanish-speaking adolescents reporting a history of violence (Meltzer-Brody et al, 2013). Physical or sexual violence, as a partner, child, or witness, experienced either within the family or outside the family, has been found to be associated with the risk for early childbearing (Lovisi, Lopez, Coutinho, & Patel, 2005; S. L. Martin et al, 2006;Rodriguez et al, 2008).…”

Depression During Pregnancy: Review of Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects in Developed and Developing Countries

“…Stressful events refer to life changes that require a social and psychological readjustment, such as the death of a loved one, marital conflicts, the loss of a job, having been a victim of a mugging. Several recent studies has reported an association between stressful events and the development of gestational depression (Alami et al, 2006;Fisher et al, 2010;Gulseren et al, 2006;Leigh & Milgrom, 2008;Lovisi et al, 2005;Pereira et al, 2009;Rodriguez et al, 2008;Rubertsson et al, 2005;Silva et al, 2010). On the other hand, stress seems also to be, in part, a result of the presence of gestational depression and anxiety (Da Costa et al, 2000).…”