Health outcomes in women with physical and sexual intimate partner violence exposure

To examine health outcomes in women with exposure to physical intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual IPV or sexual and physical IPV and the added health burden of sexual IPV.

Randomly sampled insured women (2876) completed a telephone interview to assess lifetime exposure to physical IPV only, sexual IPV only, or physical and sexual IPV (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) and mental, social, and physical health (Short Form-36, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression, Presence of Symptoms surveys). The first analysis compared the health of women with physical IPV, sexual IPV, or both physical and sexual IPV with the health of women with no IPV exposure. The second compared the health of women with sexual IPV only or physical and sexual IPV with the health of women with physical IPV only.

Compared to never abused women, pronounced adverse health effects were observed for women with sexual IPV exposure (with or without physical IPV). SF-36 scores ranged from 4.28 to 6.22 points lower for women with sexual IPV, 4.95 to 5.81 points lower for women with physical and sexual IPV, and 2.41 to 2.87 points lower for women with physical IPV. Prevalence ratios (PR) for depressive and severe depressive symptoms were: sexual IPV (2.45 and 3.06), sexual and physical IPV (2.31 and 2.93), and physical IPV (1.64 and 1.90). Women with physical and sexual IPV had more symptoms, were more likely to report fair/poor health (PR 1.88), and had a lower SF-36 physical health score. In the second analysis, women with sexual IPV or physical and sexual IPV had lower SF-36 scores and increased depression (49%-61% and 41%-54% increase, respectively) compared with women with physical IPV only.

Adverse health effects were observed in women exposed to sexual IPV. These findings suggest the need for increased efforts to screen for sexual IPV in health settings and increased primary prevention efforts that address sexual violence using an ecological approach.