title: Intimate partner violence/abuse and depressive symptoms among female health care workers: longitudinal findings.
abstract: Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) have been shown to have a major impact on mental health functioning. This study assessed the longitudinal association between recent IPV/A and depressive symptoms to identify potential targets for preventive interventions for women. Random effects models were used to examine four waves of data collected at 6-month intervals from a cohort of 1,438 female health care workers. IPV/A (e.g., sexual and physical violence, psychological abuse) in the past 5 years was associated with higher Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) 10 scores across four waves after adjustment for age, time, marital status, and childhood trauma. Women who reported IPV/A in the past 5 years had higher CES-D 10 scores (β, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-1.82; p < .0001) than nonabused women. This association was generally constant with time, suggestive of a cross-sectional association across all four waves of data. Additionally, recent IPV/A was associated with change in depressive symptoms over time among the full cohort and those with CES-D 10 scores below 10 (the threshold for likely depression) at baseline. Recent IPV/A was independently associated with depressive symptoms both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The longitudinal association was stronger among those not depressed at baseline. Implications for health care settings and workplace policies addressing IPV/A are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. llaflair@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Lareina N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: La Flair
authors.forename: Catherine P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.forename: Jacquelyn C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires