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Women’s Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration During Pregnancy and Postpartum

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Abstract

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the prevalence of women’s psychological, minor physical, and severe physical intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration during the first 18 weeks of pregnancy and at 6 weeks postpartum and to compare women who used each type of IPV to those who did not. Women who increased their IPV perpetration over time were also compared to women who decreased or did not change their IPV perpetration over time. A sample of 180 women participated in a larger study of the well-being of pregnant women. Data were collected via self-report survey and 122 participants were retained at follow-up. At both time points, more women in the sample reported IPV perpetration (baseline n = 132; follow-up n = 73) than IPV victimization (baseline n = 114; follow-up n = 66). Women who perpetrated IPV reported higher levels of IPV victimization, reported partner alcohol misuse, stress, depression, and lower dyadic adjustment compared to women who did not. Women’s IPV perpetration was associated with several negative outcomes. Findings suggest that IPV screening during pregnancy and postpartum should include women’s IPV perpetration and should be conducted at multiple time points, since women’s IPV experiences may change over time.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by funds granted from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (F31AA016706-02; K24AA019707). These data were presented, in part, at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Toronto, Canada, November 12, 2011.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Prevention and Community Research and the Consultation Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06518, USA

    Julianne C. Hellmuth

  2. University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Kristina Coop Gordon, Gregory L. Stuart & Todd M. Moore

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  1. Julianne C. Hellmuth
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  3. Gregory L. Stuart
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Correspondence to Julianne C. Hellmuth.

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Hellmuth, J.C., Gordon, K.C., Stuart, G.L. et al. Women’s Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration During Pregnancy and Postpartum. Matern Child Health J 17, 1405–1413 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1141-5

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