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Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers

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Abstract

The associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health among adolescent and young adult mothers were compared. The sample was drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and participants were 672 mothers between the ages of 14 and 21. IPV was significantly positively associated with both depression and anxiety among young adult mothers. However, these associations were not found among adolescent mothers. In addition, IPV and marital status were significantly related among young adult mothers, but not adolescent mothers. Results suggest that IPV may have different consequences during different parts of the life course, or that mental health symptoms may be reported only later in life.

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Notes

  1. Using rough proxies (i.e. participating in cultural practices, identifying with cultural heritage) that were available in the data, acculturation level was examined as a predictor of IPV. No significant results were found.

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Acknowledgements

Data were provided by The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study—a joint effort by Princeton University’s Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW) and Center for Health and Wellbeing, and Columbia University’s Social Indicators Survey Center and The National Center for Children and Families (NCCF).

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  1. Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G St., NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Suzanne C. Leaman & Christina B. Gee

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  1. Suzanne C. Leaman
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  2. Christina B. Gee
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Correspondence to Christina B. Gee.

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Leaman, S.C., Gee, C.B. Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers. J Fam Viol 23, 519–528 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-008-9179-2

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