Intimate Partner Violence Incidence and Continuation in a Primary Care Screening Program

Authors

Ann L. Coker, University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonFollow
Vicki C. Flerx, University of South Carolina - ColumbiaFollow
Paige H. Smith, University of North Carolina at GreensboroFollow
Daniel J. Whitaker, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFollow
Mary Kay Fadden, University of Texas at BrownsvilleFollow
Melinda Williams, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionFollow

Abstract

There are few longitudinal estimates of intimate partner violence (IPV) incidence and continuation. This report provides estimates of IPV incidence and continuation in women receiving health care in clinics participating in an IPV assessment and services intervention study. The Women's Experience with Battering Scale was used in combination with questions addressing physical and sexual assault to annually screen women for IPV. Between April 2002 and August 2005, 657 women in rural South Carolina consented and were screened at least twice. Among those with a current partner (n = 530), the majority (86.2%) had never experienced IPV. Among prevalent victims, IPV continued over time for 37%. IPV continuation rates were higher among older women and those who considered abuse as a problem in their relationship. Of those women who were IPV negative at time 1, IPV incidence at time 2 was 4.2%. A higher score on the Women's Experience with Battering Scale at time 1, a marker of psychological abuse, was a strong predictor of physical IPV incidence (p_trend = 0.0001). These data suggest that the incidence of IPV over a short follow-up period is relatively low and that the majority of IPV desists over this short follow-up period.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2007

Notes/Citation Information

Published in American Journal of Epidemiology, v. 165, no. 7, p. 821-827.

Dr. Ann Coker had not been a faculty member of the University of Kentucky at the time of publication.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwk074

Repository Citation

Coker, Ann L.; Flerx, Vicki C.; Smith, Paige H.; Whitaker, Daniel J.; Fadden, Mary Kay; and Williams, Melinda, "Intimate Partner Violence Incidence and Continuation in a Primary Care Screening Program" (2007). CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles. 119.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/crvaw_facpub/119