Social support and employment status modify the effect of intimate partner violence on depression symptom severity in women: results from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey.
BACKGROUND
Depression and intimate partner violence (IPV) are significant health issues for U.S. women. Interaction effects between IPV and other psychosocial factors on the severity of depressive symptoms have not been fully explored. This study assessed effect modification, that is, how IPV interacts with sociodemographics, psychosocial factors and health risk behaviors, on the severity of depressive symptoms in women.


METHODS
We utilized cross-sectional data from female respondents (n = 16,106) of the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey. Sociodemographics, psychosocial variables, and health risk behaviors determined to be significantly associated with depression were tested for interaction effects with IPV. Weighted ordinal logistic regression and predicted probabilities illustrated the effect of IPV status on depressive symptom severity, stratified by interaction effects.


RESULTS
Recent and lifetime IPV exposure were associated with more severe depressive symptoms compared with no IPV exposure. IPV history interacted with employment status and social support on the severity of depressive symptoms in women. Overall, any IPV exposure was associated with more severe depressive symptoms among women with low social support and unemployment, although the effect of recent (versus lifetime) IPV was most pronounced among women with high social support or employed women.


CONCLUSIONS
Social support and employment status interact with IPV on the severity of depressive symptoms in women. Therefore, social support or workplace interventions designed to improve depressive symptoms should examine IPV history.
MD Program, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA.
Nathalie
N
Dougé
Department of Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Erik B
EB
Lehman
Department of Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania; Department of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: jsm31@psu.edu.
Jennifer S
JS
McCall-Hosenfeld
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012944:Social Support; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult