NCJ Number
223759
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 519-528
Date Published
August 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study compared the associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health among adolescent and young-adult mothers.
Abstract
Consistent with previous research, the young-adult mothers who were experiencing IPV reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety than their counterparts who were not experiencing IPV; however, these associations were not significant in the subsample of adolescent mothers. Despite similar rates of IPV reported across the age groups, fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression were reported among the adolescents compared to the young-adult mothers. Supporting previous research, the study found that young-adult mothers who were married had lower rates of IPV than unmarried mothers. In the adolescent sample, however, IPV was not related to marriage, but marriage correlated with lower rate of anxiety among adolescent mothers. The findings provide evidence that adult studies of IPV cannot be generalized to adolescents, so adolescent IPV must be studied separately. The sample of mothers was drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Participants were 672 mothers between the ages of 14 and 21. IPV was measured with questions taken from the Effects of Violence on Work and Family Project (Lloyd, 1997). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form. Participants were also asked a number of demographic questions. 4 tables and 58 references