NCJ Number
210813
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 69-86
Date Published
February 2005
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study explored risk factors for police-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy.
Abstract
IPV is a widespread public health problem that can even affect between 1 and 20 percent of pregnant women. The potentially severe deleterious consequences of IPV during pregnancy makes it necessary to identify the risk factors associated with this form of IPV. The current study was a population-based retrospective cohort study of 389 women who reported 1 or more IPV incidents to the Seattle Police Department between 1995 and 1998 and who subsequently had a live birth or fetal death in the State of Washington. Measures, taken from official records, included demographic, behavioral, and obstetric history risk factors and police-reported physical, non-physical, and any IPV. Results of logistic regression analyses indicated several risk factors for any police-reported IPV during pregnancy, including unmarried status, public health program use, smoking or alcohol consumption during pregnancy, previous live birth, and previous spontaneous or induced abortion. The findings thus suggest that a range of demographic, behavioral, and obstetric history risk factors are potential risk markers of IPV during pregnancy. The findings also suggest that police and court data can be useful to practitioners in terms of developing appropriate partner violence intervention programming and to improve maternal health seeking behavior. Figure, tables, references