Intimate partner violence has been demonstrated to be a significant public health problem among African American women. This study provided an opportunity to examine prevalence of intimate partner violence and health consequences among a group of primarily middle-class, employed African American women enrolled in a privately insured HMO (n = 109 abused and 97 never-abused women). Significantly more abused African American women were divorced or widowed and had incomes less than $50,000 a year. Abused women had more health problems (central nervous system, gynecological, STDs, gastrointestinal), more health problems per medical visits, and more emergency room visits (p < .05) compared to never-abused women. The health consequences of abuse and its association with health disparities are discussed.
Objectives. This 11-city study sought to identity risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships. Methods. Proxies of 220 intimate partner femicide victims identified from police or medical examiner records were interviewed, along with 343 abused control women. Results. Preincident risk factors associated in multivariate analyses with increased risk of intimate partner femicide included perpetrator's access to a gun and previous threat with a weapon, perpetrator's stepchild in the home, and estrangement, especially from a controlling partner. Never living together and prior domestic violence arrest were associated with lowered risks. Significant incident factors included the victim having left for another partner and the perpetrator's use of a gun. Other significant bivariate-level risks included stalking, forced sex, and abuse during pregnancy. Conclusions. There are Identifiable risk factors for intimate partner femicides. (Am J Public Health. 2003:93:1089–1097)
Objectives. This 11-city study sought to identify risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships. Methods. Proxies of 220 intimate partner femicide victims identified from police or medical examiner records were interviewed, along with 343 abused control women. Results. Preincident risk factors associated in multivariate analyses with increased risk of intimate partner femicide included perpetrator’s access to a gun and previous threat with a weapon, perpetrator’s stepchild in the home, and estrangement, especially from a controlling partner. Never living together and prior domestic violence arrest were associated with lowered risks. Significant incident factors included the victim having left for another partner and the perpetrator’s use of a gun. Other significant bivariate-level risks included stalking, forced sex, and abuse during pregnancy. Conclusions. There are identifiable risk factors for intimate partner femicides.
Background: Domestic violence results in long-term and immediate health problems.This study compared selected physical health problems of abused and never abused women with similar access to health care.Methods: A case-control study of enrollees in a multisite metropolitan health maintenance organization sampled 2535 women enrollees aged 21 to 55 years who responded to an invitation to participate; 447 (18%) could not be contacted, 7 (0.3%) were ineligible, and 76 (3%) refused, yielding a sample of 2005.The Abuse Assessment Screen identified women physically and/or sexually abused between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 1997, resulting in 201 cases.The 240 controls were a random sample of never abused women.The general health perceptions subscale of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey measured general health.The Miller Abuse Physical Symptom and Injury Scale measured abuse-specific health problems.Results: Cases and controls differed in ethnicity, mari-tal status, educational level, and income.Direct weights were used to standardize for comparisons.Significance was tested using logistic and negative binomial regressions.Abused women had more (PϽ.05)headaches, back pain, sexually transmitted diseases, vaginal bleeding, vaginal infections, pelvic pain, painful intercourse, urinary tract infections, appetite loss, abdominal pain, and digestive problems.Abused women also had more (PՅ.001)gynecological, chronic stress-related, central nervous system, and total health problems.Conclusions: Abused women have a 50% to 70% increase in gynecological, central nervous system, and stressrelated problems, with women sexually and physically abused most likely to report problems.Routine universal screening and sensitive in-depth assessment of women presenting with frequent gynecological, chronic stressrelated, or central nervous system complaints are needed to support disclosure of domestic violence.
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