Partner violence surrounding divorce: A record-linkage study of wives and their husbands

Grandparental support and maternal depression: Do grandparents' characteristics matter more for separating mothers?

Grandparental support may protect mothers from depression, particularly mothers who separate and enter single parenthood. Using longitudinal Finnish register data on 116,917 separating and 371,703 non-separating mothers with young children, we examined differences in mothers' antidepressant purchases by grandparental characteristics related to provision of support. Grandparents' younger age (<70 years), employment, and lack of severe health problems predicted a lower probability of maternal depression. Depression was also less common if grandparents lived close to the mother and if the maternal grandparents' union was intact. Differences in maternal depression by grandparental characteristics were larger among separating than among non-separating mothers, particularly during the years before separation. Overall, maternal grandmothers' characteristics appeared to matter most, while the role of paternal grandparents was smaller. The findings suggest that grandparental characteristics associated with increased potential for providing support and decreased need of receiving support predict a lower likelihood of maternal depression, particularly among separating mothers.

Pregnant Women's experiences with intimate partner violence one year after the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan

AIM

To assess the prevalence and compare the levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) before and during the pandemic and to identify the factors that associated with physical IPV among Jordanian pregnant women.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional, correlational design. Women were asked to report their experience with IPV twice: during and before the pandemic.

METHODS

A convenience sampling technique was used to select pregnant women from National Woman's Health Care Center from 15 April to 1 September 2021. The Domestic Violence Questionnaire Screening Tool (DVQST) was used to assess the levels of IPV.

RESULTS

The women (n = 232) who participated in the study experienced considerable levels of IPV before (69% control IPV, 59.90% psychological, 46.10% physical, 43.10% sexual) and during (75.90% control IPV, 64.20% psychological, 46.10% physical, 40.90% sexual) the pandemic. There were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) higher mean DVQST scores for control IPV and psychological IPV during the pandemic (control IPV mean = 9.78, psychological mean = 7.03) versus before the pandemic (control IPV mean = 8.95, psychological mean = 6.62). Woman's educational level, marriage duration, woman's employment status, and level of mutual understanding were inversely associated with physical IPV during the pandemic.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

IPV is a global public health problem and a major violation of human rights. The levels of control IPV and psychological IPV increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the levels of physical and sexual IPV stayed the same. Antenatal screening for IPV is crucial to save women and their offspring from suffering this type of violence.