The long-term effects of intimate partner violence on adolescent mothers’ depressive symptoms

Abstract

Adolescent mothers are at high risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) which may increase their likelihood of depressive symptoms in adulthood, yet little is known about the longterm effects of IPV on adolescent mothers' trajectories of depressive symptoms. The study reported here uses prospective data spanning 14 years from a study of 229 adolescent mothers from Washington State, USA to evaluate the effects of adolescent exposure to IPV on the trajectories of depressive symptoms over time, as well as the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. After controlling for levels of economic insecurity, the results indicate that adolescent IPV and an early vulnerability to depression were significantly related to the intercept, but not the slope of the adult depressive symptom trajectories. Both cumulative and concurrent IPV predicted the likelihood of depressive symptoms at age 28 years. Follow-up analyses indicate that adolescent IPV is associated with greater levels of adult IPV, and that women who report both adolescent and adult IPV have the highest mean levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that exposure to IPV in adolescence may alter the life course of young women, increasing their risk for continuing exposure to intimate partner violence in adulthood and its concomitant negative mental health effects. Efforts aimed at prevention and early intervention in IPV among adolescent mothers are important components of the clinical care of young mothers.

Psychological and relational correlates of intimate partner violence profiles among pregnant adolescent couples

“…Couples interact regularly with the health care system during pregnancy and are motivated to make behavioral changes in anticipation of parenthood (Bloch & Parascandola, 2014; Ickovics, Niccolai, Lewis, Kershaw, & Ethier, 2003; Lee et al, 2015). Relationship violence debuts early in teens’ dating experiences and predicts IPV during the adult years (Lindhorst & Oxford, 2008). Interrupting nascent relational patterns that contribute to IPV may prevent a trajectory of relationship violence and interrupt the inter-generational transmission of violence, yielding lasting consequences for individuals, couples, and families (Sutton, Simons, Wickrama, & Futris, 2014; Widom, Czaja, & Dutton, 2014).…”

Factors influencing attitude toward intimate partner violence

“…It is responsible for both women's adverse physical (Ford-Gilboe et al, 2009;Stein & Kennedy, 2001) and mental health (Lindhorst & Oxford, 2008). Studies have demonstrated relationships between IPV and physical injuries (Macy, Giattina, Sangster, Crosby, & Montijo, 2009), homicide (McLaughlin, O'Carroll, & O'Connor, 2012), deliberate self-harm (Jaquier, Hellmuth, & Sullivan, 2013), depression (Huang, Yang, & Omaye, 2011;Taft, Bryant-Davis, Woodward, Tillman, & Torres, 2009), post-traumatic stress disorders (Nixon, Resick, & Nishith, 2004;Peltzer, Pengpid, McFarlane, & Banyini, 2013), suicide thoughts and behaviors (Devries et al, 2011;Gold, Singh, Marcus, & Palladino, 2012) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (El-Bassel, Gilbert, Wu, Go, & Hill, 2005;Sareen, Pagura, & Grant, 2009).…”

Prevalência de violência por parceiro íntimo em idosos e fatores associados: revisão sistemática

“…However, abuse perpetration was associated with increased depressive symptoms for women, not for men. Even if cross-sectional studies cannot establish a causal and temporal relationship between the facts, longitudinal studies show that IPV can lead to depression 56 , as well as precede or facilitate situations of violence 57 . Functional impairment was associated with IPV in two analyzed studies 10,36 , stating that violence may increase vulnerability, leaving the elderly with reduced ability to defend themselves against ill-treatment.…”