Intimate partner violence and pregnant and parenting adolescents in out-of-home care: reflections on a data set and implications for intervention.
OBJECTIVE
To present the findings from a data set reflecting intimate partner violence among adolescents who are pregnant and parenting and living in out-of-home care and to analyse these findings in order to generate potential interventions to address this significant issue.


BACKGROUND
Because of their developmental stage, coupled with the stress of pregnancy and new parenthood, adolescent women who are pregnant or postpartum are often at a high risk of abuse. Violence may include physical, emotional/psychological, verbal and sexual abuse, along with birth control sabotage and pregnancy coercion. Adolescent mothers in out-of-home care such as foster care, juvenile detention facilities, kinship care or living in complex family circumstances may be at an even higher risk of intimate partner violence related to the increase in stress, conflict and tenuous situations.


METHODS
This descriptive study was designed, using baseline self-report and demographic data, to examine the relationship of pregnancy or parenting among adolescents with a fear of or reported involvement in intimate partner violence.


METHODS
A total of 151 sexually active, urban, system-involved youths in out-of-home care were assessed between 2012-2015 with a survey questionnaire assessment of sexual reproductive health behaviours, areas of risk and protective factors.


RESULTS
The findings indicated a significant association between ever having been pregnant and fear of intimate partner violence.


CONCLUSIONS
In this population, fear of intimate partner violence was prevalent among adolescent mothers, adding to the complexity of an already difficult family situation. Due to the small sample size and the potential correlation between intimate partner violence and adolescent motherhood, future longitudinal studies with larger samples of adolescents residing in out-of-home care are needed to better understand how this relationship impacts adolescent mothers, their children and families.
School of Nursing, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Judith W
JW
Herrman
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Nadine
N
Finigan-Carr
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Katherine M
KM
Haigh
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D003691:Delaware; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
adolescent dating violence; adolescent mothers; interpersonal violence; out-of-home care