Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: Partner violence may occur at any time in women's lives, even during pregnancy. Although such violence may have serious consequences for women's health, little is known about how this violence may change throughout transitions in women's pregnancy (i.e., does violence change when a woman becomes pregnant or after she has a baby). This investigation strives to help address this knowledge gap by investigating longitudinal trends in partner violence among a sample of pregnant women. This research also investigates partner violence trends for women who did and did not experience violence at the beginning of their pregnancies because violence trends may vary. For example, does partner violence occur over time among women who did not experience violence early in pregnancy? Alternatively, for women who experienced partner violence early in pregnancy, do they experience less violence later? Little research exists to help answer these questions. Thus, this investigation examined partner violence trends during pregnancy among a group of victimized women, women who reported physical violence at the beginning of their pregnancy, as well as a group of comparison women, women who reported no physical violence at that time.

Methods: Study participants were recruited from two North Carolina prenatal care clinics. The study interview included a range of topics about the participants' health, including well-established measures of partner violence. Levels of physical, psychological, and sexual partner violence were reported for six times by 39 victimized and 42 comparison women over the course of 35 months, including the year before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and in the year following delivery. Retention rates, from the beginning to the end of the study, were 83%. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the three types of partner violence were examined to determine if levels 1) significantly differed over time, and 2) significantly differed between the victimized and comparison women.

Results: Findings show significant relationships between time and levels of partner violence and that the victimized women experienced higher levels of physical, sexual, and psychological violence throughout pregnancy transitions. Results also show that the victimized women reported an increase in physical violence during the first trimester of pregnancy from relatively lower violence levels in the year before pregnancy. The victimized women also reported increases in sexual and psychological violence in the period immediately after delivery.

Implications: This investigation shows there are dynamic trends in partner violence throughout pregnancy transitions and that women who experience partner violence at the beginning of pregnancy may be at risk for continued partner violence during pregnancy and into the postpartum period. Pregnancy is a time of considerable vulnerability for women's well-being, and knowing more about violence patterns throughout pregnancy can help guide social work practice with victimized women. Based on the investigation's findings, this paper will discuss recommendations for partner violence assessment and safety planning with pregnant and postpartum women. Because this investigation was conducted by a team comprised of both social work and public health researchers, implications for partner violence interventions in health care as well as social services will be highlighted.