PEDIATRICS Vol. 103 No. 5 May 1999, pp. 1007-1013
Mothers With Histories of Domestic Violence in a Pediatric Emergency Department
,, and
From the Departments of * Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine,
Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island.
Objective. To determine the prevalence of domestic violence against mothers in a pediatric emergency department and the relationship of their children to the abusers.
Design. Cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of mothers seeking treatment for their children.
Setting. An urban pediatric emergency department.
Participants. A total of 157 mothers with children <3 years of age. Women were excluded if older children or partners were present.
Results. A total of 52% of women reported histories of adult physical abuse, 21% reported adult sexual abuse, and 28% reported childhood sexual abuse. A total of 10% of women were in abusive relationships in the past year. Victims of adult physical abuse were more likely to report histories of adult sexual abuse (relative risk [RR]: 4.93) or childhood sexual abuse (RR: 3.13). Intimate partners perpetrated 67% of physical abuse and 55% of sexual abuse. Relatives perpetrated 66% of childhood sexual abuse. Women who revealed histories of childhood sexual abuse were more likely to report adult sexual abuse (RR: 4.93). A total of 40% of the perpetrators of adult physical abuse, 73% of the perpetrators of past year physical abuse, and 10% of the perpetrators of adult sexual abuse had regular contact with their victims' children. Health care providers screened only 21% of the women for past violence. Victims of domestic violence were no more likely to have been screened than those without histories of physical or sexual abuse.
Conclusions. Mothers of young patients in a pediatric emergency department are often victims of domestic violence. Perpetrators are often close relatives and thus place the victims' children at risk for abuse and for the psychological trauma of witnessing violence. Given the prevalence of domestic violence, families may benefit from routine violence screening and interventions in pediatric emergency departments. Key words: domestic violence, family violence, emergency department screening.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Facebook 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. H. Bair-Merritt, C. Feudtner, C. J. Mollen, S. Winters, M. Blackstone, and J. A. Fein Screening for Intimate Partner Violence Using an Audiotape Questionnaire: A Randomized Clinical Trial in a Pediatric Emergency Department Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2006; 160(3): 311 - 316. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. G. Holtrop, H. Fischer, S. M. Gray, K. Barry, T. Bryant, and W. Du Screening for Domestic Violence in a General Pediatric Clinic: Be Prepared! Pediatrics, November 1, 2004; 114(5): 1253 - 1257. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A Boyle, S Robinson, and P Atkinson Domestic violence in emergency medicine patients Emerg. Med. J., January 1, 2004; 21(1): 9 - 13. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. M. Siegel, E. C. Joseph, S. A. Routh, S. G. Mendel, E. Jones, R. B. Ramesh, and T. D. Hill Screening for Domestic Violence in the Pediatric Office: A Multipractice Experience Clinical Pediatrics, September 1, 2003; 42(7): 599 - 602. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
American Academy of Pediatrics Family Pediatrics: Report of the Task Force on the Family Pediatrics, June 1, 2003; 111(6): 1541 - 1571. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. L. Pulido and D. Gupta Protecting the Child and the Family: Integrating Domestic Violence Screening Into a Child Advocacy Center Violence Against Women, August 1, 2002; 8(8): 917 - 933. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. S. Kahn, B. Zuckerman, H. Bauchner, C. J. Homer, and P. H. Wise Women's Health After Pregnancy and Child Outcomes at Age 3 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study Am J Public Health, August 1, 2002; 92(8): 1312 - 1318. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. P. Berger, D. Bogen, T. Dulani, and E. Broussard Implementation of a Program to Teach Pediatric Residents and Faculty About Domestic Violence Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, August 1, 2002; 156(8): 804 - 810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Lapidus, M. B. Cooke, E. Gelven, K. Sherman, M. Duncan, and L. Banco A Statewide Survey of Domestic Violence Screening Behaviors Among Pediatricians and Family Physicians Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, April 1, 2002; 156(4): 332 - 336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. W. Parkinson, R. C. Adams, and F. G. Emerling Maternal Domestic Violence Screening in an Office-Based Pediatric Practice Pediatrics, September 1, 2001; 108(3): e43 - 43. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. J. Erickson, T. D. Hill, and R. M. Siegel Barriers to Domestic Violence Screening in the Pediatric Setting Pediatrics, July 1, 2001; 108(1): 98 - 102. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Dubowitz, M. M. Black, M. A. Kerr, J. M. Hussey, T. M. Morrel, M. D. Everson, and R. H. Starr Jr Type and Timing of Mothers' Victimization: Effects on Mothers and Children Pediatrics, April 1, 2001; 107(4): 728 - 735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J. Wright Identification of Domestic Violence in the Community Pediatric Setting: Need to Protect Mothers and Children Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 2000; 154(5): 431 - 433. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. D. Kerker, S. M. Horwitz, J. M. Leventhal, S. Plichta, and P. J. Leaf Identification of Violence in the Home: Pediatric and Parental Reports Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 2000; 154(5): 457 - 462. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. H. Feingold Everything's Not O.K. at Home Clinical Pediatrics, January 1, 2000; 39(1): 41 - 42. [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 High Rate of Domestic Violence for Mothers of Pediatric ED Patients Journal Watch Emergency Medicine, July 1, 1999; 1999(701): 17 - 17. [Full Text]
|
|
