Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Prevalence of intimate partner violence and its association with symptoms of depression; a cross-sectional study based on a female population sample in Sweden

Authors: Solveig Lövestad, Jesper Löve, Marjan Vaez, Gunilla Krantz

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is the most common type of violence targeting women. IPV includes acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors and these forms of violence often coexist in the same relationship. Living with IPV is associated with serious mental health outcomes such as depression and depressive symptoms. Few population based studies from Sweden have investigated the relationship between different forms of IPV and women’s depressive symptoms and even fewer used controlling behavior as an independent variable in such studies. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the prevalence of exposure to IPV in terms of controlling behavior, sexual, and physical violence and their association with self-reported symptoms of depression in a female population based sample.

Methods

The cross-sectional, population based sample contained 573 women aged 18–65 years randomly selected in Sweden. Five self-reported symptoms that define depression in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders were assessed. Physical and sexual violence were inquired about using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Violence Against Women Instrument (VAWI), while controlling behavior was assessed with the Controlling Behavior Scale (CBS). Associations between different forms of IPV and symptoms of depression were estimated by crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Bivariable associations revealed that women exposed to controlling behavior, had higher OR of depressive symptoms compared to unexposed women (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.63–3.63). Women exposed to physical and sexual violence had also a higher OR of depressive symptoms (OR 3.78; 95% CI 1.99–7.17 and OR 5.10; 95% CI 1.74–14.91 respectively). After adjusting for socio-demographic and psychosocial covariates, all three forms of IPV showed statistically significant associations with self-reported symptoms of depression.

Conclusions

A strength with this study is the analysis of controlling behavior and its association with self-reported symptoms of depression in a female population based sample. Exposure to controlling behavior, physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner were clearly associated with women’s self-reported symptoms of depression.
Literature
1.
Ellsberg M, Jansen HA, Heise L, Watts CH, Garcia-Moreno C. Intimate partner violence and women's physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence: an observational study. Lancet. 2008;371(9619):1165–72.CrossRefPubMed
2.
World Health Organization: Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and nonpartner sexual violence. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.
3.
World Health Organization. Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: taking action and generating evidence. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010.
4.
World Health Organization. Summary report. WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence againstWomen. Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2005.
5.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Main results. Luxembourg: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights; 2014.
6.
Katz J, Arias I. Psychological abuse and depressive symptoms in dating women: do different types of abuse have differential effects? J Fam Violence. 1999;14(3):281–95.CrossRef
7.
Mechanic MB, Weaver TL, Resick PA. Mental health consequences of intimate partner abuse: a multidimensional assessment of four different forms of abuse. Violence Against Women. 2008;14(6):634–54.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
8.
Chang JC, Cluss PA, Burke JG, Hawker L, Dado D, Goldstrohm S, Scholle SH. Partner violence screening in mental health. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2011;33(1):58–65.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Johnson MP. Conflict and control: gender symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. Violence Against Women. 2006;12(11):1003–18.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Lovestad S, Krantz G. Men's and women's exposure and perpetration of partner violence: an epidemiological study from Sweden. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:945.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
11.
Andersson, T, Heimer G, Lucas S. Violence and health in Sweden - A National Prevalence Study on Exposure to Violence among Women and Men and its Association to Health. Uppsala: National Centre for Knowledge on Men’s Violence Against Women; 2014.
12.
DLL KEG, Mercy James A, Zwi Anthony B, Rafael L. The world report on violence and health. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO); 2002.
13.
Carlson BE, McNutt L-A, Choi DY. Childhood and adult abuse among women in primary health care: effects on mental health. J Interpersonal Violence. 2003;18(8):924–41.CrossRef
14.
Thompson RS, Bonomi AE, Anderson M, Reid RJ, Dimer JA, Carrell D, Rivara FP. Intimate partner violence: prevalence, types, and chronicity in adult women. Am J Prev Med. 2006;30(6):447–57.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Montero I, Martin-Baena D, Escriba-Aguir V, Ruiz-Perez I, Vives-Cases C, Talavera M. Intimate partner violence in older women in Spain: prevalence, health consequences, and service utilization. J Women Aging. 2013;25(4):358–71.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Pico-Alfonso MA, Garcia-Linares MI, Celda-Navarro N, Blasco-Ros C, Echeburua E, Martinez M. The impact of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate male partner violence on women's mental health: depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, state anxiety, and suicide. J Women's Health. 2006;15(5):599–611.CrossRef
17.
Renner LM, Habib L, Stromquist AM, Peek-Asa C. The association of intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms in a cohort of rural couples. J Rural Health. 2014;30(1):50–8.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Lundgren E, Heimer G, Westerstrand J, Kalliokoski A-M. Slagen Dam: Mäns Våldmot kvinnor i jämställda Sverige-enomfångs undersökning (Captured queen - men’s violence against women in "equal" Sweden - a prevalence study). Umeå: Brottsoffermyndigheten; 2001.
19.
Dillon G, Hussain R, Loxton D, Rahman S. Mental and physical health and intimate partner violence against women: a review of the literature. Int J Family Med. 2013;2013:313909.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Beydoun HA, Beydoun MA, Kaufman JS, Lo B, Zonderman AB. Intimate partner violence against adult women and its association with major depressive disorder, depressive symptoms and postpartum depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2012;75(6):959–75.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
21.
Chuang CH, Cattoi AL, McCall-Hosenfeld JS, Camacho F, Dyer AM, Weisman CS. Longitudinal association of intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms. Ment Health Fam Med. 2012;9(2):107–14.PubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Devries KM, Mak JY, Bacchus LJ, Child JC, Falder G, Petzold M, Astbury J, Watts CH. Intimate partner violence and incident depressive symptoms and suicide attempts: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. PLoS Med. 2013;10(5):e1001439.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
24.
Western D, SpringerLink. Gender-based violence and depression in women: a feminist group work response / [Elektronisk resurs]. Springer New York: New York; 2013.CrossRef
25.
Sobocki P, Lekander I, Borgström F, Ström O, Runeson B. The economic burden of depression in Sweden from 1997 to 2005. Eur Psychol. 2007;22(3):146–52.CrossRef
26.
Filson J, Ulloa E, Runfola C, Hokoda A. Does powerlessness explain the relationship between intimate partner violence and depression? J Interpersonal Violence. 2010;25(3):400–15.CrossRef
27.
Loxton D, Schofield M, Hussain R. Psychological health in midlife among women who have ever lived with a violent partner or spouse. J Interpersonal Violence. 2006;21(8):1092–107.CrossRef
28.
Cavanaugh CE, Messing JT, Petras H, Fowler B, La Flair L, Kub J, Agnew J, Fitzgerald S, Bolyard R, Campbell JC. Patterns of violence against women: a latent class analysis. Psychol Trauma. 2012;4(2):169–76.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
29.
Johnson WL, Giordano PC, Longmore MA, Manning WD. Intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms during adolescence and young adulthood. J Health Soc Behav. 2014;55(1):39–55.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Mburia-Mwalili A, Clements-Nolle K, Lee W, Shadley M, Wei Y. Intimate partner violence and depression in a population-based sample of women: can social support help? J Interpersonal Violence. 2010;25(12):2258–78.CrossRef
31.
Anderson KL. Is partner violence worse in the context of control? J Marital Fam Ther. 2008;70(5):1157–68.
32.
Rich JL, Byrne JM, Curryer C, Byles JE, Loxton D. Prevalence and correlates of depression among Australian women: a systematic literature review, January 1999- January 2010. BMC Res Notes. 2013;6:424.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
33.
Dougé N, Lehman EB, McCall-Hosenfeld JS. Social support and employment status modify the effect of intimate partner violence on depression symptom severity in women: results from the 2006 behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey. Womens Health Issues. 2014;24(4):e425–34.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
34.
Iverson KM, McLaughlin KA, Gerber MR, Dick A, Smith BN, Bell ME, Cook N, Mitchell KS. Exposure to interpersonal violence and its associations with psychiatric morbidity in a U.S. National Sample: a gender comparison. Psychol Violence. 2013;3(3):273–87.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Bengtsson-Tops A, Markström U, Lewin B. The prevalence of abuse in Swedish female psychiatric users, the perpetrators and places where abuse occurred. Nordic J Psychiatr. 2005;59(6):504–10.CrossRef
36.
Finnbogadottir H, Dykes AK, Wann-Hansson C. Prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy and related risk factors: a cross-sectional study in southern Sweden. BMC Womens Health. 2014;14:63.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Hedin LW, Janson PO. The invisible wounds: the occurrence of psychological abuse and anxiety compared with previous experience of physical abuse during the childbearing year. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1999;20(3):136–44.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Radestad I, Rubertsson C, Ebeling M, Hildingsson I. What factors in early pregnancy indicate that the mother will be hit by her partner during the year after childbirth? A nationwide Swedish survey. Birth. 2004;31(2):84–92.CrossRefPubMed
39.
40.
Bengtsson-Tops A, Tops D. Self-reported consequences and needs for support associated with abuse in female users of psychiatric care. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2007;16(1):35–43.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Fernbrant C, Emmelin M, Essen B, Ostergren PO, Cantor-Graae E. Intimate partner violence and poor mental health among Thai women residing in Sweden. Glob Health Action. 2014;7:24991.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Dufort M, Gumpert CH, Stenbacka M. Intimate partner violence and help-seeking--a cross-sectional study of women in Sweden. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:866.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
43.
Krantz G, Ostergren PO. The association between violence victimisation and common symptoms in Swedish women. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2000;54(11):815–21.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
44.
Samelius L, Wijma B, Wingren G, Wijma K. Lifetime history of abuse, suffering and psychological health. Nordic J Psychiatr. 2010;64(4):227–32.CrossRef
45.
Dufort M, Stenbacka M, Gumpert CH. Physical domestic violence exposure is highly associated with suicidal attempts in both women and men. Results from the national public health survey in Sweden. Eur J Public Health 2015, 25(3):413–8.CrossRefPubMed
46.
Nybergh L, Taft C, Enander V, Krantz G. Self-reported exposure to intimate partner violence among women and men in Sweden: results from a population-based survey. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:845.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
47.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
48.
Garcia-Moreno C, Jansen H, Ellsberg M, Heise L, Watts C.  Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against women. Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women's responses. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2005.
49.
Nybergh L, Taft C, Krantz G: Psychometric properties of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in a female population-based sample in Sweden: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open 2013, 3(5).
50.
Graham-Kevan N, Archer J. Intimate terrorism and common couple violence. A test of Johnson's predictions in four British samples. J Interpersonal Violence. 2003;18(11):1247–70.CrossRef
51.
Östberg V, Lennartsson C. Getting by with a little help: the importance of various types of social support for health problems. Scand J Public Health. 2007;35(2):197–204.CrossRefPubMed
52.
World Health Organization: Putting women first: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence Against Women. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2001.
53.
Slavich GM, Irwin MR. From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: a social signal transduction theory of depression. Psychol Bull. 2014;140(3):774–815.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
54.
55.
Hellemans S, Buysse A, De Smet O, Wietzker A. Intimate partner violence in Belgium: prevalence, individual health outcomes, and relational correlates. Psychol Belg. 2014;54(1):79–96.CrossRef
56.
Coker AL, Davis KE, Arias I, Desai S, Sanderson M, Brandt HM, Smith PH. Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women. Am J Prev Med. 2002;23(4):260–8.CrossRefPubMed
57.
Blasco-Ros C, Sanchez-Lorente S, Martinez M. Recovery from depressive symptoms, state anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in women exposed to physical and psychological, but not to psychological intimate partner violence alone: a longitudinal study. BMC Psychiatr. 2010;10:98.CrossRef
58.
Stark E. Looking beyond domestic violence: policing coercive control. J Police Crisis Negotiations. 2012;12(2):199–217.CrossRef
59.
Williams C, Richardson DS, Hammock GS, Janit AS. Perceptions of physical and psychological aggression in close relationships: a review. Aggress Violent Behav. 2012;17(6):489–94.CrossRef
60.
Landstedt E, Gustafsson PE, Johansson K, Hammarstrom A. Longitudinal associations between social relationships at age 30 and internalising symptoms at age 42: findings from the northern Swedish cohort. Int J Public Health. 2016;61(1):75–81.CrossRefPubMed
61.
Tsuang MT, Tohen M, Jones PB. Textbook in psychiatric epidemiology. third ed. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell; 2011.CrossRef
62.
Ruiz-Perez I, Plazaola-Castano J, Vives-Cases C. Methodological issues in the study of violence against women. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(Suppl 2):ii26–31.PubMedPubMedCentral
63.
Lundberg I, Damstrom Thakker K, Hallstrom T, Forsell Y. Determinants of non-participation, and the effects of non-participation on potential cause-effect relationships, in the PART study on mental disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005;40(6):475–83.CrossRefPubMed
64.
La Flair LN, Bradshaw CP, Campbell JC. Intimate partner violence/abuse and depressive symptoms among female health care workers: longitudinal findings. Women’s Health Issues. 2012;22(1):e53–9.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Prevalence of intimate partner violence and its association with symptoms of depression; a cross-sectional study based on a female population sample in Sweden
Authors
Solveig Lövestad
Jesper Löve
Marjan Vaez
Gunilla Krantz
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4222-y

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Public Health 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Attitudes of consumers and live-poultry workers to central slaughtering in controlling H7N9: a cross-sectional study

Research article

A global survey on occupational health services in selected international commission on occupational health (ICOH) member countries

Research article

Factors influencing reproductive choices of HIV positive individuals attending primary health care facilities in a South African health district

Research article

Exploring consensus on how to measure smoking cessation. A Delphi study

Research article

Patterns of HIV testing practices among young gay and bisexual men living in Scotland: a qualitative study

Research article

SMS education for the promotion of diabetes self-management in low & middle income countries: a pilot randomized controlled trial in Egypt