Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2025

Social Isolation Model: A Noninvasive Rodent Model of Stress and Anxiety
Published on: November 11, 2022
Intimate partner violence and women's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
Angelica Cerveira de Baumont1, Géssica Sá Oliveira2, Juliana Bastos de Figueiredo2
1Programa de Transtornos de Ansiedade, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Departamento de Psiquiatria, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Objectives:
Intimate partner violence (IPV) increased extensively around the world during the pandemic, causing severe harm to women's mental health. However, there are no studies showing these effects in Brazil. The objectives of this study were to assess perpetration of IPV and presence of depression and suicidal ideation in women living in Brazil during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods:
Cross-sectional online survey including women living in Brazil from July 2020 to June 2021. Participants answered a 43-item self-administered questionnaire exploring their characteristics and life changes due to the pandemic (CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey [CRISIS]), IPV (World Health Organization Violence Against Women [WHO-VAW]), and depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9]). We used Poisson multiple regression analyses with robust variance to model associations between IPV and mental health outcomes, considering aspects of social vulnerability as covariates.
Results:
We found high frequencies of IPV (33.3%), depression (36.1%), and suicidal ideation (19.8%) among the participants. IPV was significantly associated with depression (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.502, p = 0.001 for one type of IPV; PR = 2.702, p < 0.001 for two or three types of IPV) and with suicidal ideation (PR = 2.264, p < 0.001 for one type of VPI; PR = 3.272, p < 0.001 for two or three types of IPV). Food insecurity, being black, lower educational levels, and being in a relationship with a person of the same gender were associated with one or both mental health outcomes.
Conclusions:
We demonstrated associations between IPV and higher frequencies of depression and suicidal ideation in women living in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the urgency of strengthening strategies to protect women during adversity.
Related Concept Videos
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
Panic Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder
Psychological Responses to Stress
Disorders of the Female Reproductive System

