Association between depression and abuse by partners of women attending general practice: descriptive, cross sectional survey.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the association between depression and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by partners or ex-partners of women attending general practice.


METHODS
Descriptive, cross sectional survey.


METHODS
30 general practitioners in Victoria, Australia.


METHODS
1257 consecutive female patients.


METHODS
Some type of abuse in an adult intimate relationship (composite abuse scale), depression (Beck depression inventory or Edinburgh postnatal depression scale), and physical health (SF-36).


RESULTS
18.0% (218/1213) of women scored as currently probably depressed and 24.1% (277/1147) had experienced some type of abuse in an adult intimate relationship. Depressed women were significantly more likely to have experienced severe combined abuse than women who were not depressed after adjusting for other significant sociodemographic variables (odds ratio 5.8, 95% confidence interval 2.8 to 12.0). These variables included not being married, having a poor education, being on a low income, being unemployed or receiving a pension, pregnancy status, or being abused as a child.


CONCLUSIONS
Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse are strongly associated with depression in women attending general practice. Doctors should sensitively ask depressed women about their experiences of violence and abuse in intimate relationships. Research into depression should include measures of partner abuse in longitudinal and intervention studies.
Hegarty
Kelsey
K
Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Vic 3053, Australia. k.hegarty@unimelb.edu.au
Gunn
Jane
J
Chondros
Patty
P
Small
Rhonda
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D014739:Victoria