Presence of children in the home and intimate partner violence among women seeking elective pregnancy termination

Growing evidence identifies adverse health effects for children who witness intimate partner violence at home. Research has also identified that women seeking elective pregnancy termination are at high risk for partner violence. However, little is known about the risk for violence exposure among the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2017-10, Vol.12 (10), p.e0186389
Main Authors: Peek-Asa, Corinne, Saftlas, Audrey F, Wallis, Anne B, Harland, Karisa, Dickey, Penny
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion
Abortion, Induced - psychology
Abuse
Adolescent
Adult
Aggression
Alcoholism
Assaults
Biology and Life Sciences
Birth control
Child, Preschool
Children
Children & youth
Consent
Contraception
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - pathology
Domestic violence
Drug abuse
Engineering and Technology
Epidemiology
Exposure
Family
Family planning
Female
Health aspects
Health care
Health risks
Health services
Humans
Infant
Injuries
Intimate partner violence
Intimate Partner Violence - statistics & numerical data
Medical diagnosis
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental health
Odds Ratio
People and Places
Population
Pregnancy
Privacy
Public health
Questionnaires
Research and Analysis Methods
Review boards
Risk Factors
Sex crimes
Sex Offenses
Sexual assault
Social Sciences
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tests
Trauma
Violence
Women
Womens health
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:Growing evidence identifies adverse health effects for children who witness intimate partner violence at home. Research has also identified that women seeking elective pregnancy termination are at high risk for partner violence. However, little is known about the risk for violence exposure among the children of women seeking elective pregnancy termination. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 957 women seeking elective pregnancy termination at a large family planning clinic. All subjects completed a 10-minute, anonymous questionnaire administered by computer in a private room. Our main outcome was 12-month prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former partner using the Abuse Assessment Screen instrument. The presence of children under the age of 18 living with the respondent was the main exposure variable. Women with children in the home had more than twice the odds of reporting physical and/or sexual IPV in the past year than women with no children, controlling for age (AOR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.41-3.85). The increased odds of IPV among women with children as compared to women with no children was present across nearly all sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, and significantly higher for the youngest women (18-20 years). The highest odds for abuse occurred among women with children living at home, in a current relationship but not living with their current partner, and abused by a former partner (AOR = 10.9; 95% CI: 3.07-38.4). Nearly one of every 14 children identified in this study lived in a home with IPV. These findings support the development of IPV interventions that are family-centered, as well as the integration of trauma-informed care into healthcare settings. Healthcare visits for contraception and pregnancy termination may be ideal opportunities for implementation of screening and family violence interventions.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0186389