Citation

Datner EM, Wiebe DJ, Brensinger CM, Nelson DB. J. Interpers. Violence 2007; 22(1): 124-135.

Affiliation

University of Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260506295000

PMID

17151383

Abstract

The article describes characteristics of pregnant women presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) who are experiencing current violence and presented a screening tool to identify pregnant women experiencing violence. Women completed an in-person interview regarding violence, sociodemo-graphic factors, health status, and drug use. Fifteen percent of women reported at least one episode of violence during the pregnancy. Young age (OR = 3.37, 95% CI: 1.79-6.36), current alcohol use (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.06-2.19), current marijuana use (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.32-2.92), less than a high school education (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.01-2.12), and a prior diagnosis of trichomonas (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.20-2.72) were significantly related to experiencing current violence. Screening patients using these five characteristics identified 8 out of 10 women reporting violence (sensitivity = 75.6%). These results identify a set of predictors that may be helpful in identifying pregnant women who are experiencing current domestic violence.

Language: en