178220 Estimated prevalence for lifetime experience of intimate partner violence among women of childbearing age in eight states and territories, United States, BRFSS, 2006

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Patricia P. Green, MSPH , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities/FAS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
James Tsai, MD, MPH , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities/FAS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
R. Louise Floyd, DSN, RN , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities/FAS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Background: Alcohol use has been linked to intimate partner violence (IPV) among women of childbearing age. This analysis was to estimate the prevalence of lifetime experience of IPV among women of childbearing age and selected sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines "intimate partner violence" as physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. A relevant module is available in the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess IPV. In 2006, a total of 7,432 women aged 18–44 years completed questions related to lifetime experience of IPV. The prevalence for lifetime experience of IPV among women of childbearing age and risk factor subgroups was estimated.

Results: The estimated prevalence of lifetime experience of IPV among women of childbearing age was 28.5%. A higher estimated prevalence was found among younger women (29.3%), women who whose race/ethnicity was other than Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic (32.2%), having less than college education (31.7%), currently unemployed (30.0%), unmarried (35.9%), engaging in binge drinking (39.6%), or current smokers (48.1%), as compared to older women (28.1-28.2%), women who were Non-Hispanic Black (26.1%), having some college or higher education (26.4%), currently employed (27.6%), married (22.7%), not engaging in binge drinking (26.6%), or not current smokers (22.1%), respectively.

Discussion: Lifetime experience of IPV is prevalent among women of childbearing age. These population representative estimates specifically for women of childbearing age in the United States were not available previously.

Learning Objectives:
1. Obtain first time estimates for lifetime experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) among U.S. childbearing-aged women 18-44 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2006. 2. Understand that alcohol use can be linked to lifetime experience of IPV. 3. Recognize that assessing alcohol use and IPV will help to identify women at risk, inform ongoing intervention strategies, and disseminate available prevention information to target populations.

Keywords: Alcohol, Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I formulated the idea and conducted the data analysis for this abstract. All authors are subject matter experts.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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