Partner Violence /Intended and Unintended Pregnancy

University Of Texas Hlth Sci Ctr San Ant, San Antonio TX

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) The overall purpose of this descriptive exploratory study is to describe women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) within a pregnancy context, intended and unintended. The specific aims are to 1) describe women's perceptions of the characteristics of intimate partner violence, 2) describe women's perceptions of the patterns of intimate partner violence, 3) describe women's perceptions of the inhibitors/facilitators of help seeking behavior in relation to intimate partner violence and 4) describe women 's perceptions of the outcomes of intimate partner violence within the context of pregnancy. Since the purpose of the proposed study is to provide a description of intimate partner violence within the context of intended and unintended pregnancy as it naturally occurs, a naturalistic study design and triangulated methods will be used. Semi-structured interviews will be used to gather descriptive data in order to develop insights into how women perceive intimate partner violence within the context of intended and unintended pregnancy. A standardized measurement of partner violence, The Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2) will be used as a means of data triangulation. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to analyze the data. Data collection, verification and analysis will occur simultaneously throughout the conduct of this naturalistic study. Qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis and constant comparison. Quantitative data analysis will involve the summarization, tabulation, and analysis of data from the CTS2 to describe frequent overall tendencies. Approximately 4.4 million adult American women are abused by intimate partners each year and this violence is the leading cause of serious injury to women. Violence during pregnancy, a health problem that has received attention for the past two decades, is still not well understood. There has been little research regarding unintended pregnancy and violence. Little is known regarding the characteristics or patterns of partner violence that may accompany an unintended pregnancy. It is the intent of this study to address this gap in the current literature, which is necessary for the development of appropriate treatment strategies.