The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on the Mental Health of Pregnant Women Residing in Slum Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ezzati- Rastegar, Khadije; Moeini, Babak; Rezapur-Shahkolai, Forouzan; Naghdi, Asadollah; Karami, Manoochehr; Jahanfar, Shayesteh

doi:10.1007/s10389-020-01283-2

Original Article
Published: 20 April 2020

The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on the Mental Health of Pregnant Women Residing in Slum Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study

Khadije Ezzati- Rastegar¹,
Babak Moeini^2,3,
Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai^3,4,
Asadollah Naghdi⁵,
Manoochehr Karami⁶ &
Shayesteh Jahanfar⁷

Journal of Public Health volume 30, pages 353–359 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Background

Intimate partner violence is one of the most common types of violence, and the association between intimate partner violence and mental health has serious implications for public health. This article aimed at investigating the impact of IPV on the mental health of pregnant women who reside in slum areas.

Methods

A group of 456 women living in slum areas was investigated. The Conflict Tactics Scale was used to measure the respondent’s experience of different types of IPV during the past year. General Health Questionnaire-28 was used to measure the likelihood that an individual had a psychiatric disorder.

Results

A total of 456 pregnant women aged ≥ 20 years were interviewed using a shortened version of the Conflict Tactics Scale and the General Health Questionnaire. All types of intimate partner violence were found to be associated with various mental health problems (p < 0.05). Overall, physical (AOR: 3.61; 95% CI 2.11–6.17) and sexual (AOR: 1.72; 95% CI 1.01–2.94) violence increased the odds of probable psychiatric disorders in victims compared with their counterparts who had not experienced such types of violence.

Conclusions

Further research is needed on the relationship between intimate partner violence and other mental health problems, protocols to screen for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings, and supportive services.

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Acknowledgements

This research was conducted under the auspices of the larger research project "The Effect of Preventive Intimate Partner Violence Interventions for Mental Health Promotion among Pregnant Women in Slum Areas of Hamadan." The authors acknowledge the Health Center Office workers who allowed the study to be conducted in their service centers and pregnant women provided assistance during the course of data collection.

Funding

The study was supported by the Management and Education Officers of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (grant no. IR.UMSHA.REC.1396.478).

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Authors and Affiliations

Health Education and Promotion, Department of Public Health, School of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Khadije Ezzati- Rastegar
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Babak Moeini
Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Babak Moeini & Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai
Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai
Department of Social Sciences, Buali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran
Asadollah Naghdi
Modelling of Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Manoochehr Karami
MPH Program, Department of Public Health, Central Michigan Unviersity, 2242, Health Professions Bilding, Mount Pleasant, MI, 48859, USA
Shayesteh Jahanfar

Authors

Khadije Ezzati- Rastegar
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Babak Moeini
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Forouzan Rezapur-Shahkolai
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Asadollah Naghdi
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Manoochehr Karami
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Shayesteh Jahanfar
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Correspondence to Shayesteh Jahanfar.

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Ezzati- Rastegar, K., Moeini, B., Rezapur-Shahkolai, F. et al. The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on the Mental Health of Pregnant Women Residing in Slum Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Public Health (Berl.) 30, 353–359 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01283-2

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Received: 07 December 2019
Accepted: 01 April 2020
Published: 20 April 2020
Issue Date: February 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01283-2

Keywords

Intimate partner violence
Mental health
Pregnant women
Slum