Health News

Abused Women Speak Out on Health

May 16, 2006 -- Abused women are more likely than other women to report poorer health and depressiondepression, and the longer they've been abused, the worse their health tends to be.

Those findings come from a survey of 3,429 English-speaking women aged 18-64 enrolled in a large health maintenance organization (HMO) in the Pacific Northwest.

More than four in 10 women -- 44% -- reported suffering some form of violence by at least one current or past intimate partner. Nearly 8% of the women reported suffering such violence in the past year.

Intimate partner violence was more common among younger women, women with low incomes and less education, single mothers, and those who had been abused as a child.

The results are due to appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in June.

About the Survey

The surveys, conducted by telephone, included a random sample of women who had been members of the HMO -- called Group Health Cooperative -- for at least three years.

Topics included physical, sexual, or psychological violence by the women's current or past intimate partners of either sex, including spouses, nonmarital partners, or dates. The women also took depression surveys, talked about their community involvement, and rated their own health.

The women were given a code sentence to use if they feared being overheard or were concerned for their safety during the interview.

Researchers from the Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies -- including Robert Thompson, MD, and Amy Bonomi, PhD, MPH -- summed up the data in two reports.

Questions About Abuse

Here are some of the survey's questions that tracked abuse by intimate partners:

• Physical abuse: Has an intimate partner ever hit, slapped, shoved, choked, kicked, shaken, or otherwise physically hurt you?
• Sexual abuse: Has an intimate partner ever forced you to participate in a sex act (e.g., oral, vaginal, or anal penetration) against your will? Ever threatened, coerced, or physically forced you into any sexual contact that did not result in intercourse or penetration?
• Nonphysical abuse: Have you ever been frightened for your safety, or that of your family or friends, because of anger or threats of an intimate partner? Has an intimate partner ever put you down, or called you names repeatedly, or controlled your behavior?

Participants also rated how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements including:

• I tried not to rock the boat because I was afraid of what my partner might do.
• My partner made me feel unsafe even in my own house.
• I felt ashamed of the things my partner did to me.
• I hid the truth from others because I was afraid not to.
• My partner could scare me without laying a hand on me.
• I felt owned and controlled by my partner.