This study explores the effect of pregnancy on women’s risk of IPV victimization. Previous studies have produced conflicting findings and have been limited by comparing only two categories of IPV. The current study included analyses of the effect of pregnancy on three statuses of IPV: no abuse, nonlethal abuse, and lethal abuse. The data used for this project are taken from the first phase of the Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study (CWHRS). Findings suggest that both nonlethal and lethal abuse statuses differ significantly from no abuse in that women’s risk of IPV victimization may decrease during pregnancy.
Anderson, K.L. ( 1997). Gender, status, and domestic violence: An integration of feminist and family violence approaches. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59, 655-669.
2.
Berenson, A.B., Stiglich, N.J., Wilkinson, G.S., & Anderson, G.D. (1991). Drug abuse and other risk factors for physical abuse in pregnancy among White non-Hispanic, Black, and Hispanic women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology , 164, 1491-1499.
3.
Block, C.R. ( 2000). Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study, 1995-1998. ICPSR version. Chicago, IL: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
4.
Brewer, V.E., & Paulsen, D.J. ( 1999). A comparison of U.S. and Canadian findings on uxoricide risk for women with children sired by previous partners. Homicide Studies, 3, 317-332.
5.
Burch, R.L., & Gallup, Jr., G.G. (2004). Pregnancy as a stimulus for domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 243-247.
6.
Campbell, J.C., Garcia-Moreno, C., & Sharps, P. ( 2004). Abuse during pregnancy in industrialized and developing countries. Violence Against Women, 10, 770-789.
7.
Campbell, J.C., Pugh, L.C., Campbell, D., & Visscher, M. ( 1995). The influence of abuse on pregnancy intention. Women’s Health Issues, 5, 214-223.
8.
Campbell, J.C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., et al. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1089-1097.
9.
Chang, J., Berg, C.J., Saltzman, L.E., & Herndon, J. ( 2005). Homicide: A leading cause of injury deaths among pregnant and postpartum women in the United States, 1991-1999. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 471-477.
10.
Daly, M., Singh, L., & Wilson, M. ( 1993). Children fathered by previous partners: A risk factor for violence against women. Canadian Journal of Public Health , 84, 209-210.
11.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. ( 1988). Homicide. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
12.
Daly, M., Wiseman, K.A., & Wilson, M.I. ( 1997). Women with children sired by previous fathers incur excess risk of uxoricide. Homicide Studies, 1, 67-71.
13.
Datner, E.M., Wiebe, D.J., Brensinger, C.M., & Nelson, D.B. ( 2007). Identifying pregnant women experiencing domestic violence in an urban emergency department. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 124-153.
14.
Dawson, M., & Gartner, R. ( 1998). Differences in the characteristics of intimate femicides: The role of relationship state and status. Homicide Studies , 2, 378-399.
15.
Decker, M.R., Martin, S.L., & Moracco, K.E. ( 2004). Homicide risk factors among pregnant women abused by their partners. Violence Against Women, 10, 498-513.
16.
DeKeseredy, W.S., & Dragiewicz, M. (2007). Understanding the complexities of feminist perspectives on woman abuse: A commentary on Donald G. Dutton’s Rethinking Domestic Violence. Violence Against Women, 13, 874-884.
17.
DeKeseredy, W.S., Schwartz, M.D., Fagen, D., & Hall, M. ( 2006). Separation/divorce sexual assault: The contribution of male support. Feminist Criminology, 1, 228-250.
Gazmararian, J.A., Lazorick, S., Spitz, A.M., Ballard, T.J., Saltzman, L.E., & Marks, J.S. ( 1996). Prevalence of violence against pregnant women: A review of the literature. Journal of the American Medical Association , 275, 1915-1920.
20.
Gazmararian, J.A., Petersen, R., Spitz, A.M., Goodwin, M.M., Saltzman, L.E., & Marks, J.S. ( 2000). Violence and reproductive health: Current knowledge and future research directions. Maternal and Child Health Journal , 4, 79-84.
21.
Goetting, A. ( 1991). Brief research report: Female victims of homicide: A portrait of their killers and the circumstances of their deaths. Violence and Victims, 6, 159-168.
22.
Goodwin, M.M., Gazmararian, J.A., Johnson, C.H., Colley Gilbert, B., Saltzman, L.E., & The PRAMS Working Group. ( 2000). Pregnancy intendedness and physical abuse around the time of pregnancy: Findings from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 1996-1997. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 4, 85-92.
Hornung, C.A., McCullough, C.B., & Sugimoto, T. ( 1981). Status relationships in marriage: Risk factors in spouse abuse. Journal of Marriage and Family, 43, 675-692.
25.
Horon, I.L. ( 2005). Underreporting of maternal deaths on death certificates and the magnitude of the problem of maternal mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 478-482.
26.
Horon, I.L., & Cheng, D. ( 2001). Enhanced surveillance for pregnancy-associated mortality: Maryland 1993-1998. Journal of the American Medical Association , 285, 1455-1459.
27.
Horon, I.L., & Cheng, D. ( 2005). Underreporting of pregnancy-associated deaths. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 1879.
28.
Hotaling, G., Finkelhor, D., Kirkpatrick, J., & Straus, M. (Eds.). (1988). Family abuse and its consequences. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
29.
Jasinski, J.L. ( 2001). Pregnancy and violence against women: An analysis of longitudinal data. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 167, 712-733.
30.
Jasinski, J.L. ( 2004). Pregnancy and domestic violence: A review of the literature . Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 5, 47-64.
31.
Jasinski, J.L., & Kaufman Kantor, G. (2001). Pregnancy, stress, and wife assault: Ethnic differences in prevalence, severity, and onset in a national sample. Violence and Victims, 16, 219-232.
32.
Kaukinen, C. ( 2004). Status compatibility, physical violence, and emotional abuse in intimate relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family , 66, 452-471.
33.
Lambert, L.C., & Firestone, J.M. (2000). Economic context and multiple abuse techniques. Violence Against Women, 6, 49-67.
34.
Martin, S.L., English, K.T., Clark, K.A., Calenti, D., & Kupper, L.L. ( 1996). Violence and substance abuse among North Carolina pregnant women. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 991-998.
35.
Martin, S.L., Harris-Britt, A., Li, Y., Moracco, K.E., Kupper, L.L., & Campbell, J.C. (2004). Changes in intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 201-210.
36.
McCloskey, L.A. ( 1996). Socioeconomic and coercive power within the family. Gender & Society, 10, 449-463.
37.
McFarlane, J., Campbell, J.C., Sharps, P., & Watson, K. ( 2002). Abuse during pregnancy and femicide: Urgent implications for women’s health. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 100, 27-36.
38.
Mercy, J.A., & Saltzman, L.E. (1989). Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85. American Journal of Public Health, 79, 595-599.
39.
Nanini, A., Weiss, J., Goldstein, R., & Fogerty, S. ( 2002). Pregnancy-associated mortality at the end of the 20th century: Massachusetts, 1990-1999. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, 57, 140-143.
40.
Parsons, L.H., & Harper, M.A. ( 1999). Violent maternal deaths in North Carolina. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 94, 990-993.
41.
Puzone, C.A., Saltzman, L.E., Kresnow, M.J., Thompson, M.P., & Mercy, J.A. ( 2000). National trends in intimate partner homicide: United States, 1976-1995. Violence Against Women, 6, 409-426.
42.
Richardson, J., Coid, J., Petruckevitch, A., Chung, W.S., Moorey, S., & Feder, G. ( 2002). Identifying domestic violence: Cross sectional study in primary care. British Medical Journal, 324, 1-6.
43.
Shadigian, E.M., & Bauer, S.T. ( 2004). Social issues in reproductive health: Screening for partner violence during pregnancy. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 84, 273-280.
44.
Stewart, D.E., & Cecutti, A. ( 1993). Physical abuse in pregnancy. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 149, 1257-1263.
45.
Straus, M.A., Gelles, R.J., & Steinmetz, S.K. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
46.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. ( 2000). Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
47.
Websdale, N. ( 1999). Understanding domestic homicide. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
48.
Wilson, M., & Daly, M. ( 1992). Till death us do part. In J. Radford, & D. E. H. Russell (Eds.), Femicide: The politics of woman-killing (pp. 99-113). New York: Twayne.
49.
Wilson, M., Johnson, H., & Daly, M. ( 1995). Lethal and nonlethal violence against wives. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 37, 331-361.
50.
Wright, C. ( 2007, November). From killing in the name of "honor" to murdering pregnant women: Topic for criminological research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology , Atlanta, GA.
51.
Wright, C., & Blomberg, T. ( 2005, November). Femicide of pregnant women: Causes and concerns . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Nashville, TN.
