Pregnancy Study:

Title: Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence in Pregnant Women

Principal Investigator: Julianne Hellmuth
Co-Principal Investigator: Kristi Gordon

IPV during pregnancy is highly prevalent and puts both mother and unborn child at exceptional risk for serious injury.  We are currently conducting a study to investigate potential risk factors for IPV in pregnancy, such as alcohol use, stress, infidelity, jealousy, and relationship discord, from both a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. Specifically we are interested in 1) the extent to which alcohol use, stress, infidelity, jealousy, and relationship dissatisfaction predict intimate partner violence in our sample, and 2) the potential moderating effects of alcohol use on the relationships between jealousy and intimate partner violence and stress and intimate partner violence.

About 200 low SES pregnant women will be recruited from public health clinics and assessed via telephone in their first trimester and then again six weeks post birth.  We are interested in learning more about what predisposes women in this vulnerable population to experiencing relationship violence.