This paper presents findings from the International Dating Violence study regarding the prevalence of physical assault, sexual coercion, and suicidal ideation among university students and explores the relationships between suicidal ideation and dating violence. Nearly 16,000 university students from 22 sites in 21 countries were recruited through convenience sampling. The results showed that although there were large differences between countries, the lowest rates of dating violence were still quite high. Male and female students were remarkably similar in the proportion of those who physically assaulted a partner or reported being a victim of sexual coercion. Correlation analysis revealed that perpetrators and victims of physical assault had an increased rate of suicidal ideation. Depression accounted for the relationship between dating violence and suicidal ideation. This study highlights a need for the development of universal screening and targeted services for violence, depression, and suicide prevention.

This is probably the first study on the incidence of domestic violence in pregnant women in a Chinese community. The incidence is comparable to that from American studies. Routine screening with structured questions during the antenatal visits is necessary in order to identify the abused women so as to prevent potential trauma and to interrupt existing abuse.

Objective The objective of this first population-based study in Hong Kong was to assess the impact of psychological abuse by an intimate partner on the mental health of pregnant women.Design Survey.Setting Antenatal clinics in seven public hospitals in Hong Kong.Population Three thousand two hundred and forty-five pregnant women.Methods The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) and demographic questionnaires were administered face-to-face at 32-36 weeks of gestation. At 1 week postpartum, the AAS, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and SF-12 Health Survey were administered by telephone.Main outcome measures Intimate partner violence, postnatal depression and health-related quality of life.Results Two hundred and ninety six (9.1%) of the participants reported abuse by an intimate partner in the past year. Of those abused, 216 (73%) reported psychological abuse only and 80 (27%) reported physical and/or sexual abuse. Forty six (57.5%) in the physical and/or sexual abuse group also reported psychological abuse. Women in the psychological abuse only group had a higher risk of postnatal depression compared with nonabused women (adjusted OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.12-3.02). They were also at a higher risk of thinking about harming themselves (adjusted OR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.49-8.20) and had significantly poorer mental healthrelated quality of life (P < 0.001). The higher risks of postnatal depression and thinking of harming themselves were not observed in the physical and/or sexual abuse group although significantly poorer mental health-related quality of life (P < 0.001) was observed.Conclusions Psychological abuse by an intimate partner against pregnant women has a negative impact on their mental health postdelivery. Furthermore, psychological abuse in the absence of physical and/or sexual abuse can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of abused women. The findings underscore the importance of screening pregnant women for abuse by an intimate partner and the need for developing, implementing and evaluating interventions to address psychological abuse.Keywords Intimate partner violence, pregnancy, psychological abuse. Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, which does not permit commercial exploitation.

The findings supported our hypothesis that the effect of domestic violence on Chinese pregnant women is mainly on their psychological well-being.