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Webinar: Parental and child mental health and intimate partner violence

This webinar is over. 27 June 2023, 17:00 – 18:30 BST, Zoom

VISION director, Professor Gene Feder, led the webinar, Interrelationships between parental mental health, intimate partner violence and child mental health – implications for practice, with Dr Shabeer Syed and Dr Claire Powell on behalf of the NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit.

They presented findings from a mixed methods study that seeks to improve responses to families affected by intimate partner violence (IPV) and parents and children’s mental health problems.

Then, they presented preliminary findings on the relationship between parental IPV and a range of clinically relevant adversity and mental health-related indicators (www.acesinehrs.com) in anonymised health records from parents and children presenting to GPs, A&E and hospital admissions between one year before and five years after birth.

Their research shows that 1 in 5 (20%) families experienced IPV, although only 1 in 50 (2%) had IPV recorded in the GP record.  Recording of other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was better, with 1 in 2 (53.4%) families having at least one recorded in the early life course. Compared to families without ACEs, families with ACEs had a higher risk of parental IPV, especially when at least one parent and child had recorded a mental health problem. Gene will discuss the implications of these findings for national guidance on supporting families experiencing IPV and mental health problems, articulating how data already within medical records can help identify those families. 

For further information please see: Interrelationships between parental mental health, intimate partner violence and child mental health – implications for practice – ACAMH

Photo by Sebastián León Prado on Unsplash

Different childhood adversities lead to different health inequalities

Even experiencing just one type of adverse childhood experience (ACE) increases the risks of poor health outcomes in adulthood, including health-harming behaviours, poor sexual and mental health, and crime and violence.

Among people experiencing one type of ACE, this study examined which ACEs were most strongly related to each type of health harms, using a combined study sample of 20,556 18–69 years living in England and Wales. The research team, including VISION researcher Mark Bellis, found that sexual abuse in childhood strongly predicted subsequent obesity. Sexual abuse also showed the biggest increase in later cannabis use. Household alcohol problems in childhood was the ACE most strongly associated with violence and incarceration in adulthood. 

Toxic stress can arise from ACEs such as physical and sexual abuse, but other more prevalent ACEs, for example verbal abuse and parental separation, may also contribute substantively to poorer life course health.

For further information, please see: Comparing relationships between single types of adverse childhood experiences and health-related outcomes: a combined primary data study of eight cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales | BMJ Open

Or contact Mark Bellis at M.A.Bellis@ljmu.ac.uk

Photo by Adam McCoid on Unsplash

Intimate partner violence: Factor in chronic health problems

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly recognised as a contributing factor for long-term health problems; however, few studies have assessed these health outcomes using consistent and comprehensive IPV measures or representative population-based samples. Health implications of IPV against men is also relatively underexplored.  Given the gendered differences in IPV exposure patterns, exploration of gender patterns in men’ and women’s IPV exposure and health outcomes is needed.

We used data from the 2019 New Zealand Family Violence Study, a cross-sectional population-based study of ~2,800 ever-partnered women and men which was conducted across 3 regions of New Zealand.

We found that women’s exposure to any lifetime IPV, as well as specific IPV types (physical, sexual, psychological, controlling behaviors, and economic abuse), was associated with increased likelihood of reporting adverse health outcomes (poor general health,  recent pain or discomfort, recent health care consultation, any diagnosed physical and mental health condition). Furthermore, a cumulative pattern was observed that is women who experienced multiple IPV types were more likely to report poorer health outcomes.

Regarding men exposure to IPV, we found that while men’s exposure to IPV was associated with increased likelihood of reporting 4 of the 7 assessed poor health outcomes, specific IPV types were inconsistently associated with poor health outcomes. Experience of a higher number of IPV types among men did not show a clear stepwise association with number of health outcomes. These findings indicate that IPV against men, unlike women, does not consistently contribute to their poor health outcomes at the population level.  

In sum, our findings warrant gender-appropriate clinical approaches when IPV is identified. Specifically, health care systems need to be mobilized to address IPV as a priority health issue among women. However, these findings do not warrant routine inquiry for IPV against men in clinical settings, although appropriate care is needed if IPV against men is identified.

For further information please see: Association Between Men’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Self-reported Health Outcomes in New Zealand | Global Health | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network and Association Between Women’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Self-reported Health Outcomes in New Zealand | Intimate Partner Violence | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Or contact Dr Ladan Hashemi at ladan.hashemi@city.ac.uk