title: Association between maternal intimate partner violence victimization during pregnancy and maternal abusive behavior towards infants at 4 months of age in Japan.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether maternal intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization during pregnancy is associated with abusive behavior by the mother towards infants at 4 months of age. A population-based sample of 6590 mothers with 4-month-old infants participated in this study in Japan. Abusive behavior was assessed via questionnaire and defined as frequency of shaking and smothering during the preceding month. Both verbal and physical IPV during pregnancy were assessed retrospectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used, adjusting for types of IPV and potential covariates, specifically postpartum depression. Maternal exposure to verbal and physical IPV during pregnancy was reported by 10.9% and 1.2% of women, respectively. In the adjusted model, women exposed to verbal IPV alone were significantly more likely to abuse offspring (odds ratio: 1.59, 95% confidence interval: 1.17-2.16) while exposure to physical IPV did not have an additive effect for abusive behavior. Maternal victimization by verbal, but not physical IPV was associated with maternal abusive behavior towards their 4-month-old infant. Screening for verbal abuse during pregnancy might be an efficient approach to identify high-risk mothers of infant abuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Japan.
authors.forename: Airi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amemiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Japan; Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. Electronic address: fujiwara.hlth@tmd.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010331:Paternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D038642:Shaken Baby Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Abusive head trauma; Child abuse; Domestic violence; Japan; Shaken baby syndrome