Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, PTSD, and Use of Mental Health Resources Among Ethnically Diverse Black Women

• Published in: Social work in health care Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 351 - 369
• Main Authors: Sabri, Bushra, Bolyard, Richelle, McFadgion, Akosoa L., Stockman, Jamila K., Lucea, Marguerite B., Callwood, Gloria B., Coverston, Catherine R., Campbell, Jacquelyn C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2013; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans - psychology; Baltimore - epidemiology; Battered Women - psychology; Black people; Case-Control Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; depression; Depression - ethnology; Domestic violence; Family Planning; Female; Females; Health Care Services; Health Problems; Humans; Mental Health; Mental Health Services - utilization; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Partner Abuse; Post traumatic stress disorder; Primary Health Care; PTSD; Risk; Risk factors; Sexual Partners; Spouse Abuse - ethnology; Spouse Abuse - psychology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - ethnology; United States Virgin Islands - ethnology; violence; Women; Young Adult; United States Virgin Islands; Baltimore; United States > US; ASW, Caribbean Sea; USA
• ISSN: 0098-1389; 1541-034X
• DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2012.745461

This study examined exposure to violence and risk for lethality in intimate partner relationships as factors related to co-occurring MH problems and use of mental health (MH) resources among women of African descent. Black women with intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences (n = 431) were recruited from primary care, prenatal or family planning clinics in the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Severity of IPV was significantly associated with co-occurring MH problems, but was not associated with the use of MH resources among African-American women. Risk for lethality and co-occurring problems were also not significantly related to the use of resources. African Caribbean women with severe physical abuse experiences were significantly less likely to use resources. In contrast, severity of physical abuse was positively associated with the use of resources among Black women with mixed ethnicity. Severe IPV experiences are risk factors for co-occurring MH problems, which in turn, increases the need for MH services. However, Black women may not seek help for MH problems. Thus, social work practitioners in health care settings must thoroughly assess women for their IPV experiences and develop tailored treatment plans that address their abuse histories and MH needs.