School of Public Health
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1633
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
Note: Prior to July 1, 2007, the School of Public Health was named the College of Health & Human Performance.
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item The context of violent disagreements between parents: a qualitative analysis from parents’ reports(Springer Nature, 2014-12-24) Bair-Merritt, Megan H; Mandal, Mahua; Epstein, Norman B; Werlinich, Carol A; Kerrigan, DeannaIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health problem that affects millions of families. Much of what is known about IPV comes from quantitative studies that often "count" acts of IPV without exploring in depth the circumstances surrounding the violence, thereby leaving critical questions unanswered; existing qualitative studies tend to focus solely on women’s perspectives. There is a dearth of dyadic qualitative research exploring the context of IPV in families with children, thus hindering the development of effective interventions for families experiencing IPV. Seven heterosexual couples were recruited from a University-based family therapy clinic to participate in qualitative interviews. Couples were eligible if they had experienced severe verbal or any physical aggression during the past 4 months; had ≥ one child living in the household; were English-speaking; and were ≥ 18. Each individual was interviewed separately. Key topics explored included specific types of violence used by men and women; primary triggers and the context surrounding aggressive disagreements; degree to which the child(ren) were exposed; and perceived consequences for adults and children. All couples listed household responsibilities and parenting as key IPV triggers. Couples with infants reported that parenting disagreements were particularly heated, with women using aggression due to frustration about their partners’ lack of support. Couples also described substance use, wanting to be heard, and prior violence histories as triggers or as the background context for IPV episodes. Children were present during IPV and often intervened in conflicts involving severe violence. Parents’ perceptions of the effects of IPV on their children ranged from minimal to major emotional distress, with men describing more significant impact than women. When describing acute triggers, parents most commonly mentioned that arguments were instigated by concerns about the division of household labor and parenting, a finding that may have significant implications for intervention development; this was particularly notable for parents of infants. Our findings emphasize the need for innovative programs that help parents cope with the stresses of raising a family as well as programs that directly address the consequences of IPV for children.Item VICTIM DEPRESSION, POSITIVE PARTNER BEHAVIOR, AND TYPE OF PARTNER AGGRESSION AS DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN’S STEPS TOWARD LEAVING AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP(2019) Thomas, Jannel; Epstein, Norman B; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated factors associated with the degree to which victims of partner violence take steps toward leaving the relationship. It was a secondary analysis of clinic data from pre-therapy couple assessments of demographic characteristics; physical, psychological, and sexual partner aggression; victim depression; perpetrator positive partner behavior; and steps the victim took toward leaving. Females’ income and education were not associated with steps toward leaving. Physical, psychological, and sexual aggression were all associated with steps toward leaving. Greater depression was associated with more steps toward leaving and more positive partner behavior was associated with fewer steps toward leaving. Neither depression nor positive partner behavior moderated the association between physical or psychological aggression and steps toward leaving. The association between sexual aggression and steps toward leaving was positive when positive partner behavior was higher, but non-significant when positive partner behavior was lower. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.Item Maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and C-reactive protein levels in young children in Tanzania(Elsevier, 2018-12) Slopen, Natalie; Zhang, Jing; Urlacher, Samuel S.; De Silva, Gretchen; Mittal, MonaIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a critical public health issue that impacts women and children across the globe. Prior studies have documented that maternal experiences of IPV are associated with adverse psychological and physical health outcomes in children; however, research on the underlying physiological pathways linking IPV to these conditions is limited. Drawing on data from the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, we examined the relationship between maternal report of IPV in the past 12 months and inflammation among children ages 6 months to 5 years. Our study included 503 children who were randomly selected to provide a blood sample and had a mother who had ever been married and who had completed the Domestic Violence Module, which collected information on physical, sexual, and emotional violence. Analyses were stratified based on a threshold for acute immune activation status, defined by the threshold of CRP>1.1 mg/L for young children in Tanzania. In bivariate analyses, healthy children whose mothers reported IPV showed a marginally elevated median CRP level compared to children whose mothers did not report IPV (0.35 vs. 0.41 mg/L; p = 0.13). Similarly, among children with active or recent infections, those whose mothers reported IPV had an elevated median CRP compared to children whose mothers did not (4.06 vs 3.09 mg/L; p = 0.03). In adjusted multiple variable regression models to account for child, mother, and household characteristics, maternal IPV was positively associated with (log) CRP in both healthy children and children with active or recent infection. Although longitudinal research with additional biomarkers of inflammation is needed, our results provide support for the hypothesis that inflammation may function as a biological pathway linking maternal IPV to poor psychological and physical health outcomes among children of mothers who are victimized—and this may extend to very young children and children in non-Western contexts.