Intimate violence and black women's health

Womens Health. 1997 Fall-Winter;3(3-4):315-48.

Abstract

After reviewing the literature on health effects of intimate violence, we report secondary analyses of responses of 439 black women who participated in the Commonwealth Fund's national survey on women's health. Lower income women were more likely to experience partner violence but not childhood abuse; and income group was related to self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and perceived health status. Childhood physical and sexual abuse and partner violence were intercorrelated; both abuse history and partner violence were related to greater risk for depressive symptoms, lower life satisfaction, and lower perceived health care quality. Partner violence was also related to lower self-esteem and perceived health status. Sexually abused women had more difficulties in interpersonal relationships, including lower perceived health care quality even with self-esteem and depressive symptoms controlled. Implications for prevention, training, and future research as well as methodological issues in research on violence against black women are discussed.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attitude to Health / ethnology*
  • Black or African American* / psychology
  • Black or African American* / statistics & numerical data
  • Crime Victims* / psychology
  • Crime Victims* / statistics & numerical data
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Domestic Violence / ethnology*
  • Domestic Violence / psychology
  • Female
  • Health Status*
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Mental Health*
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Sampling Studies
  • Sex Offenses / ethnology*
  • Sex Offenses / psychology
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Women's Health*