Predictors of intimate partner violence among pregnant women

Objective: To identify predictive factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) among pregnant women. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 250 pregnant, married women attending three women's hospitals in South Korea for prenatal care were enrolled between July 1 and August 31, 2016. The women answered structured questionnaires assessing conflict negotiation coping, social support, and IPV, which was measured by 18 questions in three domains: psychological, physical, and sexual violence. Participants who reported experience in response to more than one question were deemed to have encountered IPV. Binomial logistic regression analysis was used to investigate predictive factors of IPV. Results: Overall, 85 (34.0%) participants had experienced IPV. Likelihood of IPV was linked with younger age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83–0.94; P=0.012), unemployment (aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.07–3.70; P=0.031), and graduate school education (aOR 7.32, 95% CI 1.68–31.84; P=0.008). The likelihood of IPV increased as the social support score decreased (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88–0.95; P<0.001). Conclusion: Efforts to screen for IPV and to intervene to reduce the impact of such violence on pregnant women's delivery outcomes should be a maternal health priority in South Korea.