Citation

Patel AR, Weobong B, Patel VH, Singla DR. Arch. Women Ment. Health 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Sinai Health System, 600 University Ave, Rm914A, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada. daisy.singla@utoronto.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00737-019-00992-2

PMID

31363925

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) strongly predicts depression, but it is unknown if women experiencing IPV can benefit from depression treatments in contexts where depression and IPV are prevalent. This study explored whether women experiencing IPV in Goa, India, can benefit from the Healthy Activity Program (HAP), a culturally adapted behavioral activation treatment, compared with enhanced usual care (EUC). Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were performed on data from a clinical trial. Measures assessed at baseline and 3 and 12 months included depressive symptoms. Measures assessed at 3 and 12 months included activation and IPV. Independent t tests were conducted to assess if participants experiencing IPV had higher depressive symptoms and lower activation at 3 and 12 months; hierarchical linear regression was conducted to determine if 3-month IPV predicted 12-month depressive symptoms across trial arms (Hypothesis 1). Hierarchical linear regression was then conducted to examine if the relationship between 3-month activation and 12-month depressive symptoms was moderated by 3-month IPV within each trial arm (Hypothesis 2). As expected, participants experiencing IPV had significantly lower activation levels and higher depressive symptoms compared with participants who did not experience IPV at 3 and 12 months in cross-sectional analyses. Similarly, IPV endorsed at 3 months significantly predicted depressive symptoms at 12 months. However, activation was significantly associated with less severe depressive symptoms at 12 months, irrespective of IPV endorsement among HAP participants. For EUC participants, IPV remained the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms at 12 months.

RESULTS suggest that women experiencing IPV can still benefit from behavioral activation.

Language: en

Keywords

Behavioral activation; Depression; India; Intimate partner violence; LMIC