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Survey of intimate partner violence before and during pregnancy among J apanese women
Author(s) -
Kataoka Yaeko,
Imazeki Mikiko,
Shinohara Eriko
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
japan journal of nursing science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.363
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1742-7924
pISSN - 1742-7932
DOI - 10.1111/jjns.12093
Subject(s) - psychology , domestic violence , obstetrics , medicine , clinical psychology , gynecology , environmental health , human factors and ergonomics , poison control
Aim Intimate partner violence ( IPV ) causes serious health problems, which could be life‐threatening to pregnant women and their babies. Despite several IPV studies in J apan, the screening timeframe for IPV during pregnancy remains unclear. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of IPV among Japanese women before and during pregnancy. Methods A survey was conducted at a hospital's outpatient clinic in N agano, J apan, during O ctober through D ecember 2011 and M arch through J uly 2012. The V iolence A gainst W omen S creen ( VAWS ) questionnaire was distributed to 93 eligible women and 84 (89.5%) agreed to be assessed for the occurrence of IPV before and during pregnancy. Results The mean VAWS total score before pregnancy was 1.43 (standard deviation [ SD ] = 1.64; range, 0–7), and during pregnancy it was 0.83 ( SD = 1.03; range, 0–6), and was significantly different ( t = 4.98, P < 0.001). In addition, more women experienced IPV prior to pregnancy (34.9%) than during pregnancy (20.7%). All women who screened positive during pregnancy were also positive before pregnancy. Prevalence of intimate partner physical violence was 4.9% prior to pregnancy and declined to 3.7% during pregnancy. Conclusion Even though the prevalence of IPV during pregnancy had decreased compared with before pregnancy, all women experiencing IPV before pregnancy continued to be victimized during pregnancy. Therefore, IPV screening questions should include IPV that had occurred a year prior.