Impact of intimate partner violence and childhood maltreatment on maternal–infant maltreatment: A longitudinal study

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Abstract
Aim: This study identifies the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, and childhood maltreatment on mothers’ perpetration of child maltreatment on 1‐month postnatal infants.Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted on women in the third trimester of pregnancy in two obstetric hospitals in Tokyo, Japan, from June 2016 to September 2017. Participants were asked to complete online self‐reported questionnaires during their pregnancy period and at 1 month postnatal. The relationship between suffering from IPV during pregnancy, experiencing childhood maltreatment before the age of 18 years, and perpetration of child maltreatment toward infants was measured among mothers using the Violence Against Women Screen and a survey of four and 14 ad hoc questions. To identify the impact of poly‐victimizations of IPV and childhood maltreatment on maternal–infant maltreatment, the study implemented logistic regression models.Results: The data from 533 respondents to the first and second surveys were analyzed. Maternal–infant maltreatment at 1 month postnatal was strongly associated with poly‐victimizations of IPV during pregnancy and childhood maltreatment (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.17; p < .001; 95% CI = 2.39–11.20), single victimization of IPV (AOR = 3.43, p < .001, 95% CI = 1.76–6.72), and single victimization of childhood maltreatment (AOR = 1.75, p = .03, 95% CI = 1.04–2.93; neither = reference).Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of individuating pregnant women with poly‐victimizations of IPV during pregnancy and childhood maltreatment and providing intensive and continuous support for such women to prevent maternal–infant maltreatment after childbirth.
Funding Information
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant‐in‐Aid for Research Activity Start‐up/ 14H06)

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