Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy in Turkey: Determinants From Nationwide Surveys

The association of domestic violence during pregnancy with maternal psychological well-being in the early postpartum period: A sample from women with low socioeconomic status in Eastern Turkey

AIM

To examine the association of women's exposure to domestic violence during pregnancy with postpartum maternal psychological well-being (postpartum depression and anxiety) in the early postpartum period.

METHODS

The sample of this descriptive correlational research study comprised 358 women. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Domestic Violence Screening Tool, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale. The one-way multivariate analysis of variance, and a multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to analysis of data.

RESULTS

The mean scores of the HITS, the EPDS, and the PSAS were 6.00±16.00, 7.47±5.57, and 72.02±18.63 respectively. Considering the cut-off values of the scales, the women were found to be at risk for exposure to domestic violence (20.1%), postpartum depression (24%), and postpartum anxiety (11.2%). Education level and having social security was significantly associated with women's HITS and PSAS score.Women with high mean domestic violence scores had high mean postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety scores. Women's mean domestic violence and postpartum anxiety scores were significantly and positively associated with their mean postpartum depression scores (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study revealed that women were frequently exposed to DV during pregnancy, education level and social security were important predictors of exposure to DV, and that DV associated with postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. Exposure to DV and postpartum anxiety increased the risk of postpartum depression. It is recommended to integrate screening, guidance, and supportive counseling practices into routine antenatal care to improve the mental health of pregnant women at risk.

Worldwide Perinatal Intimate Partner Violence Prevalence and Risk Factors for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women who have experienced perinatal intimate partner violence (P-IPV) has gradually attracted the attention of psychologists, mental health, and health care professionals. However, a comprehensive understanding of its prevalence and associated risk factors is still lacking. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the prevalence and explore influencing factors for PTSD in women who have suffered P-IPV. Our study inclusion criteria were: women who experienced IPV in the year before conception, throughout pregnancy, during delivery, and up to 1 year after giving birth for which a quantitative assessment of PTSD was done using validated diagnostic or screening tools. This study searched nine English databases and four Chinese databases. The final analysis included 16 studies, involving 9,098 female subjects. Meta-analysis was performed on the extracted data using the Stata 16.0 software (Stata Corp. LP, College Station, TX, USA).Fixed or random effect models were selected to pool odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of PTSD after heterogeneity test. Meta-analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of PTSD in women who suffered P-IPV was 30.0% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = [22.0%, 37.0%]). Only nine studies described influencing factors for PTSD based on multivariate logistic regression analysis. The five identified influencing factors were: non-immigrants (OR = 2.56; 95% CI [1.29, 5.08]), non-cohabitation (OR = 2.45; [1.35, 4.42]), trauma history (OR = 1.80; [1.18, 2.76]), education below senior high school (OR = 1.32; [0.64, 2.75]), and age 18 to 29 years (OR = 1.06; [0.94, 1.19]). These findings provided a reference value of PTSD prevalence, risk factors, and potential association with P-IPV among women worldwide. However, the geographical coverage of the reviewed studies is limited and epidemiological investigations from more diverse areas are required in the future.

Exposure of Pregnant Women to Intimate Partner Violence during the Pandemic in Turkey and Influencing Factors

PURPOSE

This research was conducted to determine the exposure of pregnant women to intimate partner violence (IPV) during the Covid-19 pandemic and its influencing factors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

This study included 456 pregnant women. The "Pregnant Information Form" and "Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy Questionnaire" were used to collect data.

FINDINGS

Exposure frequency to IPV during the pandemic and curfews were 44.1% and 43.9%, respectively. A significant relationship was found between exposure to IPV and the partner having wage-earning employment, marital relationship during Covid-19, the effect of the pandemic on spousal relationships, and gravida.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of IPV in pregnant women during and after the pandemic did not change significantly from IPV in pregnant women before the pandemic.

CLINICAL EVIDENCE

To prevent and reduce partner violence during pregnancy, there is a need to evaluate IPV among women who apply for routine pregnancy examinations.

Intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Vietnam: role of husbands

Intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators are often husbands. Understanding factors pertaining to women's male partners is essential for programming interventions against IPV. The objective of the study was to describe husband-related social and behavioural risk factors and assess how they are associated with IPV during pregnancy. Cross-sectional data were collected among 1309 pregnant women with husbands in Dong Anh district, Vietnam. Information on sociodemographic characteristics of husbands, the husband's behaviour and the husband's involvement in pregnancy care was indirectly collected via women's report at first antenatal care visit. Data on exposure to intimate partner violence during pregnancy were collected when the women returned for antenatal care in 30-34 gestational weeks. Logistic regression analyses were used to measure the relationships between IPV during pregnancy and risk factors from the husband. Pregnant women who had husbands who were younger or blue-collar worker/farmer/unemployed had more likelihood to be exposed to IPV. Women with husbands who drank alcohol before sexual intercourse and gambled were more likely to be exposed to IPV repeated times. Those with husbands who had intentions of having a child had over three times increased OR to be exposed to IPV once (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.1-9.7). If the husband had a preference for sons, the woman had 1.5 times increased OR (AOR = 1.5; 95% CI 1.1-1.9) to be exposed to IPV repeated times during pregnancy. This study highlights significant associations between IPV and maternal perceptions of husbands' behaviours and involvement in pregnancy. Findings may help to identify at-risk pregnant women to IPV and guide the development of targeted interventions to prevent IPV from husbands.