A history of personal violence and postpartum depression: is there a link?

Background: A link between violence and depression has been shown, but not a link between violence and postpartum depression. This study sought to determine if there is an association between a history of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional as a child or adult) and postpartum depression (PPD). Method...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of women's mental health 2002-03, Vol.4 (3), p.83-92
Main Authors: Cohen, M. M., Schei, B., Ansara, D., Gallop, R., Stuckless, N., Stewart, D. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult abuse & neglect
Child abuse & neglect
Correlation analysis
Emotional abuse
Mental depression
Postpartum depression
Sex crimes
Violence
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Summary:Background: A link between violence and depression has been shown, but not a link between violence and postpartum depression. This study sought to determine if there is an association between a history of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional as a child or adult) and postpartum depression (PPD). Method: 200 postpartum women were recruited from 6 hospitals. At 8-10 weeks postpartum, a telephone interviewer asked women about physical, emotional or sexual abuse as an adult or child and sociodemographic, obstetrical and personal medical history. PPD was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, score of S12). Abuse was determined by the Conflict Tactics Scale or the Abuse Assessment Screen. Chi-square and logistic regression were used to determine the relationship between violence and PPD. Results: 11% of women had EPDS scores of S12. Rates of childhood (6.5%), or adult (6.5%) physical abuse; and childhood (13%) or adult (14%) sexual abuse were reported by respondents. Emotional abuse in the current relationship (29.6%) exceeded that of childhood abuse (3.5%). Overall 43.2% of respondents had at least one form of abuse. Having a history of depression (OR = 3.3 (95% CI, 1.3-8.7)), panic attack during pregnancy (OR = 5.4 (1.6-19.0)), maternal complications (OR = 5.0 (1.7-15.1)), low social support (OR = 3.3 (1.3-8.7)) and emotional abuse (OR = 2.8 (1.1-7.4) were associated with PPD. Conclusion: Emotional abuse but not physical or sexual abuse was found to be associated with PPD. A possible explanation for this relationship may be that being in an abusive situation puts one at risk for depression and in turn, postpartum depression. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1434-1816
1435-1102
DOI:10.1007/s007370200004