Intimate partner violence and depression among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between intimate partner violence and depression.


METHODS
A household probability sample of Whites (n=616), Blacks (n=377), and Hispanics (n=592) age 18 or older was interviewed in 1995. The response rate was 85%. Logistic analysis is used to identify predictors of depression.


RESULTS
Among men, Black (OR=.29; 95% CI, 0.13-.65) and Hispanic (OR=0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8) ethnicity were protective against depression. Factors of risk for men included victimization by female to male partner violence (OR=4.04; 95% CI, 1.15-14.11), unemployment (OR=7.65; 95% CI, 1.59-16.39), and living in a high-unemployment neighborhood (OR=4.6; 95% CI, 1.86-11.37). Among women, the predictors are perpetration of moderate (OR=4.08; 95% CI, 1.33-12.47) or severe (OR=6.57; 95% CI, 1.76-24.52) female to male partner violence, and impulsivity (OR=1.82; 95% CI, 3.87-20.71).


CONCLUSIONS
Knowledge from surveys using general population samples is important for developing prevention interventions in the community. Because predictors of depression in these samples are both individual and contextual at neighborhood level, prevention interventions to be effective must address not only individual factors of risk but also structural conditions in the environment where individuals live.
Dallas Regional Campus, University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, Texas 75390-9128, USA. raul.caetano@UTSouthwestern.edu
Raul
R
Caetano
Carol
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Cunradi
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data