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Decrease in Domestic Violence During Pregnancy: A Study From Turkey Erman Bagcioglu, Mehmet Vural, Ibrahim Fatih Karababa, Mahmut Aksin and Salih Selek J Interpers Violence 2014 29: 203 originally published online 17 October 2013 DOI: 10.1177/0886260513505147 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/29/2/203
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com
On behalf of: American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
Additional services and information for Journal of Interpersonal Violence can be found at: Email Alerts: http://jiv.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://jiv.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/29/2/203.refs.html
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505147 research-article2013
JIV29210.1177/0886260513505147Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceBagcoglu et al.
Article
Decrease in Domestic Violence During Pregnancy: A Study From Turkey
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2014, Vol 29(2) 203–216 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0886260513505147 jiv.sagepub.com
Erman Bag˘cıog˘lu,1 Mehmet Vural,2 . Ibrahim Fatih Karababa,2 Mahmut Akşin,2 and Salih Selek2,3
Abstract Our aim is to evaluate the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) among pregnant women and find out whether several factors were associated with DV or not. A total of 317 pregnant women applied at Sanliurfa Obstetrics Hospital and Harran University obstetrics and gynecology department outpatient clinic were interviewed using the modified form of Abuse Assessment Screen questionnaire. Several clinical and sociodemographic data were also obtained from the participants. Mean pregnancy number per woman (gravida) was 3.62 ± 0.13. 47.3% of women had experienced DV before pregnancy. However, the rate of DV exposure significantly decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy (p < .001). Participants with positive family history of DV (mother’s exposure) had significantly higher DV rates (p < .001). Those who were exposed to DV, visited their parents less (p = .002). The mean body mass index of DV exposed women was significantly lower (p = .011) than non-DV exposed women. DV exposed women had fewer social interactions and their weight gain may affected by violence. Pregnancy appears to decrease DV in Sanliurfa.
1Afyon
Kocatepe University, Turkey University, Sanliurfa, Turkey 3Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey 2Harran
Corresponding Author: Salih Selek, Istanbul Medeniyet Universitesi, D-100, Mevkii, 34700, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: [email protected]
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(2)
Keywords pregnancy, domestic violence, Turkey
Introduction Many researchers have focused on domestic violence (DV) during pregnancy and have tried to determine its prevalence and associated risk factors. DV during pregnancy not only harms victims’ physical health but may also impact mental health as well. The prevalence of DV during pregnancy has been found to be in 14% in India (Varma, Chandra, Thomas, & Carey, 2007), 4.3% in China (Leung, Leung, Lam, & Ho, 1999), 6.6% in Canada (Stewart & Cecutti, 1993), and so on. Studies have shown that DV may cause longterm psychological problems (Stewart & Cecutti, 1993; Zhang, Zou, Cao, & Zhang, 2012). It is known that alcohol abuse, depression, suicide attempts, and posttraumatic stress disorder are positively associated with abuse during the prenatal period (Asad et al., 2010; Mahapatro, Gupta, Gupta, & Kundu, 2011; Thompson et al., 2000). Although DV during pregnancy has been studied in Turkey, no statistical information or research studies are available on DV during pregnancy in southeastern of Anatolia (SEA; a region in the south east of Turkey), which is different from other regions of Turkey by sociocultural means. Ethnic diversity is greater in this part and SEA has the highest poverty rate among the regions of Turkey. The fertility rate of the region is higher than the other regions of Turkey and almost two thirds of the population is under the age of 30. There is intensive migration from rural area to urban centers. Urban women with rural background cannot take part in economic activities due to lack of education-training (Fazlioglu, 2002). Local women suffer from gender inequality, and they do not have economic opportunities (Saatci & Akpinar, 2007; Unver, 1997). The age of marriage is low. Girls at the age of 16 to 17 years get married by the demand of their families (İçli, Şevket, & Boyacıoğlu, 2012). Women’s participation in decision making is extremely limited. For example, only 12.4% of all married women chose their spouses with their own free will (Fazlioglu, 2002). There is general reluctance for the education of girls based on traditional factors (Yildiz, 2010). The tradition of bride price, generally paid to the father of a girl for marriage, is very widespread in the region (Ilkkaracan, 1998). Polygamy marriages that are practiced in the region generally consist of only two wives and are especially common among tribal leaders (İçli et al., 2012). In this region, the frequency of suicides is higher than the other regions and suicides and suicides attempts of women are particularly higher than men (Delice & Teymur, 2012). Agriculture is the dominant production sector in the region (Unver, 1997).
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The landowners consist of two major groups, the small landholders and large tribal families. The members of the tribal families are both landlords and decision makers in the communities (Ayguney, 2002). Of these households, 60% are nuclear families, but a quarter of all households are extended, a significantly higher number than in other parts of Turkey (Hill, 2006). Children are regarded as necessary for a happy marriage (Isikoglu et al., 2006) and childless couples are often excluded from taking leading roles in important family functions (Rutstein & Shah, 2004). As it is common in underdeveloped regions, in the eastern part of Turkey, sons are also valued more than daughters due to the beliefs that boys will be in command of family property in the future, as well as providing security for their elderly parents and leaving as large a posterity is possible by sons (Kagitcibasi & Ataca, 2005; Okten, 2009). In the studies carried out in Turkey, risk factors for DV were women who marry at a young age, undereducation, unemployment, lower level of income, more than two children, partners having a lower level of education and partners having a habit of gambling and drinking (Akar, Aksakal, Demirel, Durukan, & Ozkan, 2010; Tokuc, Ekuklu, & Avcioglu, 2010). In this study, we aim to extend the present knowledge regarding the relationship between DV and pregnancy. The objective of our study is to evaluate the prevalence of DV against pregnant women and find out whether several factors were associated with DV or not in a southeastern part of Turkey.
Material and Method This study was conducted in Sanliurfa, a southeastern city of Turkey. The population of Sanliurfa is about 1.5 million, which makes up more than 20% of the regional population. It is a city with a mixed Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic population. A total of 317 pregnant women who attended at Sanliurfa Obstetrics Hospital and Sanliurfa Harran University Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Clinic, Turkey, aged between 18 and 50 years were enrolled. The participants consisted of consecutive patients who applied for routine obstetrical examinations at the either one of the settings. Two of them refused to participate in the study. All of the participants gave informed consent after explanation of the study design by the obstetrician who was also in the research team (V.M. and A.M.). Although all of the participants arrived at the clinics with a family member, the women were interviewed alone using the modified of Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) questionnaire by the obstetrician. The participants were reassured that the gathered information would be confidential and nobody’s identity would be uncovered. Women with past or current history of severe mental illness (mental retardation, schizophrenia
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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or psychotic disorders) were excluded from the study by a medical database search from the online information system during the evaluation. The interview was conducted in Turkish or Kurdish by the obstetrician. In case of Arabic participants who could not speak either Turkish or Kurdish a native Arabic speaker nurse was involved in translation. Because of the risk of disclosure of the identities referral to social workers and emergency lines was made rather than explicit support. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first part consisted of sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, reproductive and medical history, sexual experience, and information about DV in past and during pregnancy. In the second part, a modified version of the AAS questionnaire was introduced. We used a structured questionnaire modified from the AAS questionnaire to determine violence among pregnant women. The AAS gives a measure of current and past-year abuse and of lifetime abuse. Any positive response to current, past-year, or lifetime abuse was regarded as abuse. This questionnaire has been used in Turkish clinical settings before (Yildizhan et al., 2009). By using this form, DV during pregnancy and before pregnancy were recorded. Screening questions were as follows: (a) Before your pregnancy, have you been hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt by someone? (b) Since your pregnancy began, have you been hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by someone? (c) Have you ever been humiliated or shouted during pregnancy by someone? (d) Have you ever experienced financial abuse during your current pregnancy? (e) Has anyone forced you to have sexual activities without consent during pregnancy? (f) Are you hesitant or afraid of your partner during pregnancy? (g) In case of violence, is there anybody who knows that you had experienced violence? Women who reported a past and/or recent history of DV formed the “abused” group, and women who had not reported DV formed the “non-abused” group.
Definitions According to Turkish Republic Prime Minister Directorate General on Status of Women (2009), types of DV were classified into four categories as follows: 1. Verbal violence: insulting or swearing/humiliating or blaming in front of others/scared her or threatening to harm her or her relatives 2. Physical violence: slapped her or throwing something at her/pushed or shoved her or pulled her/hit her with his fist/kicked her, dragged her or beat her up/choked or burnt her on purpose/threatened to use or used a gun, knife
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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3. Sexual violence: use of physical force to compel her to engage in sex against her will/had sexual intercourse when she did not want to because she was afraid/forced her to do something sexual that she found degrading or humiliating 4. Economic violence: not letting women work/limiting the amount of resources to use by the partner/not giving money for household expenses. To provide the consistency of the terms and establish a common language, the participants were informed of these definitions of DV.
Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics were tabulated. The t test and χ2 test were used, where appropriate, for comparing the nonabused group with the abused group. p < .05 was accepted as significant.
Results Mean age of the women was 27.4 ± 5.9. A total of 151 participants (47.6%) had a history of abuse. Only 33 of the 151 (21.9%) women reported that DV continued during current pregnancy. All the women who have faced DV during pregnancy reported to have had been slapped/pushed at by their husband. Fourteen of them reported to have been humiliated/shouted verbally by their partner. Twenty-one women had been financially abused during current pregnancy. Sexual abuse during the current pregnancy was reported by 16 females. Eighteen of those women who had been abused during pregnancy said that they were afraid of their partner. The statistical information about the sample profile is given in Table 1. The association of abuse with their sociodemographic characteristics is shown in Table 2. Our data indicate no significant difference in economic situation, ethnicity, type of family, sexual satisfaction, median sexual intercourse (monthly), dyspareunia, smoking status, gravidity, parity, gestational week at delivery, Apgar 1 score, Apgar 5 score between the abused and nonabused groups. However, the rate of DV exposure significantly decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy (p < .001). We also asked women, “Did you experience domestic violence after you and your partner found out the sex of your baby in any of your previous pregnancies?” A total of 265 women answered “no,” and 26 women answered “yes” to the question. Only 10 of them had a boy and 16 of them had a girl. Participants with a positive family history of DV (mother’s exposure) had significantly higher
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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Table 1. Sample Sociodemographic Characteristics (n = 317).
Age (M ± SD) Race-ethnicity Turkish Arabian Kurdish Other Place of residence Rural Urban Type of family Nuclear Extended Type of union Office wedding Islamic marriage Outside marriage Marriage style Arranged marriage Dating Other Education levels Illiterate Primary Secondary University
n
%
27.4 ± 5.9
32 136 146 3
10.1 42.9 46.1 3
152 165
47.9 52.1
227 90
70.3 29.7
297 19 2
93.1 4.1 2.8
255 57 5
79.9 17.9 2.2
93 195 28 1
29.2 61.1 8.8 0.9
DV rates (p < .001) than women not reporting a family history of DV. Those who were exposed to DV, visited their parents less (p = .002). The mean body mass index (BMI) of DV-exposed women was significantly lower (p = .011) than non-DV exposed women.
Discussion The present study assessed the prevalence of DV during pregnancy and the relationship between abused women and their sociodemographic characteristics in southeastern region of Turkey. In all, 317 women interviewed agreed to participate in the present study; 151 (47.6%) women reported having experienced abuse. The rate of DV exposure decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy.
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Table 2. Sociodemographic Data and Risk Factor for Abused and Nonabused Women. Abused women (n = 151)
Variables Mean wage Turkish Liras/monthly ($1 :1.8 TL) Median sexual intercourse (monthly) Sexual satisfaction Not satisfied Satisfied Dyspareunia No Yes Smoking status Smoker Nonsmoker Her mother’s exposure to violence Yes No Body mass index (BMI) Visiting parents (times in a month) M ± SD Gravidity (M ± SD) Parity (M ± SD) Gestational week at delivery Fetal or newborn’s weight (kg) Apgar 1 score Apgar 5 score
Non-abused women (n = 166)
p value
550.00
609.52
.152
6.76
7.16
.924
21 (13.9%) 130 (86.0%)
12 (7.2%) 154 (92.7%)
.145
115 (76.1%) 36 (23.8%)
129 (77.7%) 37 (22.2%)
.825
10 (6.6%) 141 (93.3%)
18 (10.8%) 148 (89.1%)
.186
51 (33.7%) 100 (66.2%) 24.12 3.07 ± 0.29
7 (4.2%) 159 (95.7%) 24.92 5.86 ± 0.63
Decrease in Domestic Violence During Pregnancy: A Study From Turkey Erman Bagcioglu, Mehmet Vural, Ibrahim Fatih Karababa, Mahmut Aksin and Salih Selek J Interpers Violence 2014 29: 203 originally published online 17 October 2013 DOI: 10.1177/0886260513505147 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/29/2/203
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com
On behalf of: American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
Additional services and information for Journal of Interpersonal Violence can be found at: Email Alerts: http://jiv.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://jiv.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/29/2/203.refs.html
>> Version of Record - Dec 5, 2013 OnlineFirst Version of Record - Oct 17, 2013 What is This?
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
505147 research-article2013
JIV29210.1177/0886260513505147Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceBagcoglu et al.
Article
Decrease in Domestic Violence During Pregnancy: A Study From Turkey
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2014, Vol 29(2) 203–216 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0886260513505147 jiv.sagepub.com
Erman Bag˘cıog˘lu,1 Mehmet Vural,2 . Ibrahim Fatih Karababa,2 Mahmut Akşin,2 and Salih Selek2,3
Abstract Our aim is to evaluate the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) among pregnant women and find out whether several factors were associated with DV or not. A total of 317 pregnant women applied at Sanliurfa Obstetrics Hospital and Harran University obstetrics and gynecology department outpatient clinic were interviewed using the modified form of Abuse Assessment Screen questionnaire. Several clinical and sociodemographic data were also obtained from the participants. Mean pregnancy number per woman (gravida) was 3.62 ± 0.13. 47.3% of women had experienced DV before pregnancy. However, the rate of DV exposure significantly decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy (p < .001). Participants with positive family history of DV (mother’s exposure) had significantly higher DV rates (p < .001). Those who were exposed to DV, visited their parents less (p = .002). The mean body mass index of DV exposed women was significantly lower (p = .011) than non-DV exposed women. DV exposed women had fewer social interactions and their weight gain may affected by violence. Pregnancy appears to decrease DV in Sanliurfa.
1Afyon
Kocatepe University, Turkey University, Sanliurfa, Turkey 3Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey 2Harran
Corresponding Author: Salih Selek, Istanbul Medeniyet Universitesi, D-100, Mevkii, 34700, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: [email protected]
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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Keywords pregnancy, domestic violence, Turkey
Introduction Many researchers have focused on domestic violence (DV) during pregnancy and have tried to determine its prevalence and associated risk factors. DV during pregnancy not only harms victims’ physical health but may also impact mental health as well. The prevalence of DV during pregnancy has been found to be in 14% in India (Varma, Chandra, Thomas, & Carey, 2007), 4.3% in China (Leung, Leung, Lam, & Ho, 1999), 6.6% in Canada (Stewart & Cecutti, 1993), and so on. Studies have shown that DV may cause longterm psychological problems (Stewart & Cecutti, 1993; Zhang, Zou, Cao, & Zhang, 2012). It is known that alcohol abuse, depression, suicide attempts, and posttraumatic stress disorder are positively associated with abuse during the prenatal period (Asad et al., 2010; Mahapatro, Gupta, Gupta, & Kundu, 2011; Thompson et al., 2000). Although DV during pregnancy has been studied in Turkey, no statistical information or research studies are available on DV during pregnancy in southeastern of Anatolia (SEA; a region in the south east of Turkey), which is different from other regions of Turkey by sociocultural means. Ethnic diversity is greater in this part and SEA has the highest poverty rate among the regions of Turkey. The fertility rate of the region is higher than the other regions of Turkey and almost two thirds of the population is under the age of 30. There is intensive migration from rural area to urban centers. Urban women with rural background cannot take part in economic activities due to lack of education-training (Fazlioglu, 2002). Local women suffer from gender inequality, and they do not have economic opportunities (Saatci & Akpinar, 2007; Unver, 1997). The age of marriage is low. Girls at the age of 16 to 17 years get married by the demand of their families (İçli, Şevket, & Boyacıoğlu, 2012). Women’s participation in decision making is extremely limited. For example, only 12.4% of all married women chose their spouses with their own free will (Fazlioglu, 2002). There is general reluctance for the education of girls based on traditional factors (Yildiz, 2010). The tradition of bride price, generally paid to the father of a girl for marriage, is very widespread in the region (Ilkkaracan, 1998). Polygamy marriages that are practiced in the region generally consist of only two wives and are especially common among tribal leaders (İçli et al., 2012). In this region, the frequency of suicides is higher than the other regions and suicides and suicides attempts of women are particularly higher than men (Delice & Teymur, 2012). Agriculture is the dominant production sector in the region (Unver, 1997).
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
Bag˘cıog˘lu et al.
205
The landowners consist of two major groups, the small landholders and large tribal families. The members of the tribal families are both landlords and decision makers in the communities (Ayguney, 2002). Of these households, 60% are nuclear families, but a quarter of all households are extended, a significantly higher number than in other parts of Turkey (Hill, 2006). Children are regarded as necessary for a happy marriage (Isikoglu et al., 2006) and childless couples are often excluded from taking leading roles in important family functions (Rutstein & Shah, 2004). As it is common in underdeveloped regions, in the eastern part of Turkey, sons are also valued more than daughters due to the beliefs that boys will be in command of family property in the future, as well as providing security for their elderly parents and leaving as large a posterity is possible by sons (Kagitcibasi & Ataca, 2005; Okten, 2009). In the studies carried out in Turkey, risk factors for DV were women who marry at a young age, undereducation, unemployment, lower level of income, more than two children, partners having a lower level of education and partners having a habit of gambling and drinking (Akar, Aksakal, Demirel, Durukan, & Ozkan, 2010; Tokuc, Ekuklu, & Avcioglu, 2010). In this study, we aim to extend the present knowledge regarding the relationship between DV and pregnancy. The objective of our study is to evaluate the prevalence of DV against pregnant women and find out whether several factors were associated with DV or not in a southeastern part of Turkey.
Material and Method This study was conducted in Sanliurfa, a southeastern city of Turkey. The population of Sanliurfa is about 1.5 million, which makes up more than 20% of the regional population. It is a city with a mixed Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic population. A total of 317 pregnant women who attended at Sanliurfa Obstetrics Hospital and Sanliurfa Harran University Obstetrics and Gynecology Outpatient Clinic, Turkey, aged between 18 and 50 years were enrolled. The participants consisted of consecutive patients who applied for routine obstetrical examinations at the either one of the settings. Two of them refused to participate in the study. All of the participants gave informed consent after explanation of the study design by the obstetrician who was also in the research team (V.M. and A.M.). Although all of the participants arrived at the clinics with a family member, the women were interviewed alone using the modified of Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) questionnaire by the obstetrician. The participants were reassured that the gathered information would be confidential and nobody’s identity would be uncovered. Women with past or current history of severe mental illness (mental retardation, schizophrenia
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
206
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(2)
or psychotic disorders) were excluded from the study by a medical database search from the online information system during the evaluation. The interview was conducted in Turkish or Kurdish by the obstetrician. In case of Arabic participants who could not speak either Turkish or Kurdish a native Arabic speaker nurse was involved in translation. Because of the risk of disclosure of the identities referral to social workers and emergency lines was made rather than explicit support. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first part consisted of sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, reproductive and medical history, sexual experience, and information about DV in past and during pregnancy. In the second part, a modified version of the AAS questionnaire was introduced. We used a structured questionnaire modified from the AAS questionnaire to determine violence among pregnant women. The AAS gives a measure of current and past-year abuse and of lifetime abuse. Any positive response to current, past-year, or lifetime abuse was regarded as abuse. This questionnaire has been used in Turkish clinical settings before (Yildizhan et al., 2009). By using this form, DV during pregnancy and before pregnancy were recorded. Screening questions were as follows: (a) Before your pregnancy, have you been hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt by someone? (b) Since your pregnancy began, have you been hit, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt by someone? (c) Have you ever been humiliated or shouted during pregnancy by someone? (d) Have you ever experienced financial abuse during your current pregnancy? (e) Has anyone forced you to have sexual activities without consent during pregnancy? (f) Are you hesitant or afraid of your partner during pregnancy? (g) In case of violence, is there anybody who knows that you had experienced violence? Women who reported a past and/or recent history of DV formed the “abused” group, and women who had not reported DV formed the “non-abused” group.
Definitions According to Turkish Republic Prime Minister Directorate General on Status of Women (2009), types of DV were classified into four categories as follows: 1. Verbal violence: insulting or swearing/humiliating or blaming in front of others/scared her or threatening to harm her or her relatives 2. Physical violence: slapped her or throwing something at her/pushed or shoved her or pulled her/hit her with his fist/kicked her, dragged her or beat her up/choked or burnt her on purpose/threatened to use or used a gun, knife
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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3. Sexual violence: use of physical force to compel her to engage in sex against her will/had sexual intercourse when she did not want to because she was afraid/forced her to do something sexual that she found degrading or humiliating 4. Economic violence: not letting women work/limiting the amount of resources to use by the partner/not giving money for household expenses. To provide the consistency of the terms and establish a common language, the participants were informed of these definitions of DV.
Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0 for Windows (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics were tabulated. The t test and χ2 test were used, where appropriate, for comparing the nonabused group with the abused group. p < .05 was accepted as significant.
Results Mean age of the women was 27.4 ± 5.9. A total of 151 participants (47.6%) had a history of abuse. Only 33 of the 151 (21.9%) women reported that DV continued during current pregnancy. All the women who have faced DV during pregnancy reported to have had been slapped/pushed at by their husband. Fourteen of them reported to have been humiliated/shouted verbally by their partner. Twenty-one women had been financially abused during current pregnancy. Sexual abuse during the current pregnancy was reported by 16 females. Eighteen of those women who had been abused during pregnancy said that they were afraid of their partner. The statistical information about the sample profile is given in Table 1. The association of abuse with their sociodemographic characteristics is shown in Table 2. Our data indicate no significant difference in economic situation, ethnicity, type of family, sexual satisfaction, median sexual intercourse (monthly), dyspareunia, smoking status, gravidity, parity, gestational week at delivery, Apgar 1 score, Apgar 5 score between the abused and nonabused groups. However, the rate of DV exposure significantly decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy (p < .001). We also asked women, “Did you experience domestic violence after you and your partner found out the sex of your baby in any of your previous pregnancies?” A total of 265 women answered “no,” and 26 women answered “yes” to the question. Only 10 of them had a boy and 16 of them had a girl. Participants with a positive family history of DV (mother’s exposure) had significantly higher
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
208
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Table 1. Sample Sociodemographic Characteristics (n = 317).
Age (M ± SD) Race-ethnicity Turkish Arabian Kurdish Other Place of residence Rural Urban Type of family Nuclear Extended Type of union Office wedding Islamic marriage Outside marriage Marriage style Arranged marriage Dating Other Education levels Illiterate Primary Secondary University
n
%
27.4 ± 5.9
32 136 146 3
10.1 42.9 46.1 3
152 165
47.9 52.1
227 90
70.3 29.7
297 19 2
93.1 4.1 2.8
255 57 5
79.9 17.9 2.2
93 195 28 1
29.2 61.1 8.8 0.9
DV rates (p < .001) than women not reporting a family history of DV. Those who were exposed to DV, visited their parents less (p = .002). The mean body mass index (BMI) of DV-exposed women was significantly lower (p = .011) than non-DV exposed women.
Discussion The present study assessed the prevalence of DV during pregnancy and the relationship between abused women and their sociodemographic characteristics in southeastern region of Turkey. In all, 317 women interviewed agreed to participate in the present study; 151 (47.6%) women reported having experienced abuse. The rate of DV exposure decreased to 10.3% during pregnancy.
Downloaded from jiv.sagepub.com at St Petersburg State University on December 30, 2013
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Table 2. Sociodemographic Data and Risk Factor for Abused and Nonabused Women. Abused women (n = 151)
Variables Mean wage Turkish Liras/monthly ($1 :1.8 TL) Median sexual intercourse (monthly) Sexual satisfaction Not satisfied Satisfied Dyspareunia No Yes Smoking status Smoker Nonsmoker Her mother’s exposure to violence Yes No Body mass index (BMI) Visiting parents (times in a month) M ± SD Gravidity (M ± SD) Parity (M ± SD) Gestational week at delivery Fetal or newborn’s weight (kg) Apgar 1 score Apgar 5 score
Non-abused women (n = 166)
p value
550.00
609.52
.152
6.76
7.16
.924
21 (13.9%) 130 (86.0%)
12 (7.2%) 154 (92.7%)
.145
115 (76.1%) 36 (23.8%)
129 (77.7%) 37 (22.2%)
.825
10 (6.6%) 141 (93.3%)
18 (10.8%) 148 (89.1%)
.186
51 (33.7%) 100 (66.2%) 24.12 3.07 ± 0.29
7 (4.2%) 159 (95.7%) 24.92 5.86 ± 0.63
