BATTERING DURING PREGNANCY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY.
Contributors: University of Rochester.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 112
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Clinical.
Description: Recent research on family violence suggests that battering during pregnancy is a hidden phenomenon with serious implications for the mother, the child, and the family. This purpose of this exploratory study was to examine differences between battered pregnant women and non-battered pregnant women, changes in the battering relationship for women battered prior to and during pregnancy, and causality between the battering and the pregnancy.

The study population was a convenience sample of 65 women in their third trimester of pregnancy recruited from a prenatal clinic in a large, private, teaching hospital. The Index of Spouse Abuse was used to divide the subjects into a pregnant battered group and a pregnant not battered group. Thirty five percent of the subjects were battered either physically and/or psychologically during their current pregnancy. Fifty five percent of the subjects had been battered either during the current pregnancy or prior to this pregnancy.

The pregnant battered group had lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depression than the pregnant not battered group. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of number of prenatal visits, household composition, and drug use. There were also no significant differences between the groups in terms of their acceptance of the pregnancy. There were significant differences, however, between the groups in terms of partner perception of the pregnancy. The partners of the pregnant battered group were more likely to be less accepting of the pregnancy as the pregnancy progressed.

It was hypothesized that for those women who were in a battering relationship prior to the pregnancy, the abuse would escalate during the pregnancy. There were significant mean level differences for the groups on the scores for abuse, however, the direction was toward decreased abuse during the pregnancy. While this hypothesis was rejected, limitations in the design of this study were discussed which might account for this finding.

The pregnant battered women did express causality between being battered and being pregnant. The most common theme extracted from the aggregated categories the pregnant battered group offered as explanations as to why their partner was abusing them, was directly related to the pregnancy in the forms of prenatal child abuse, denying fathering the child, opposing views on wanting a child, and anger due to normal pregnant illness.

This exploratory study provides a basis for identification, assessment and intervention strategies for pregnant women who are in battering relationships, and has important implications for health care administrators, educators and practitioners.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-06, Section: B, page: 2789.

Thesis (ED.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, 1992.

School code: 0188.