Not only are women who have experienced violence from their partner (intimate partner violence) at higher risk of becoming depressed, but women who are depressed may also be at increased risk of experiencing intimate partner violence, according to a study titled Intimate Partner Violence and Incident Depressive Symptoms and Suicide Attempts: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.
Furthermore, there may also be a link between intimate partner violence and subsequent suicide among women, but little evidence to support a similar finding in men. The researchers led by Karen Devries from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, reached these conclusions by reviewing published studies that followed up individuals over a period of time (longitudinal studies) and examined intimate partner violence, depression, and suicide attempts.
Over 36 000 people from high- and middle-income countries were included in the review and in a further analysis, the authors found that in women, experience of intimate partner violence nearly doubled the odds of subsequent depression. However, they also found the reverse; that is, women with depression had nearly double the odds of subsequently experiencing intimate partner violence.
Population of focus: Women
Links to resource:
Date: 2013
Journal: PLoS Medicine
Reference: Karen M. Devries, Joelle M. Mak, Loraine J. Bacchus, Jennifer C. Child, Gail Falder, Max Petzold, Jill Astbury, Charlotte H. Watts. Intimate Partner Violence and Incident Depressive Symptoms and Suicide Attempts: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies. PLoS Medicine, 2013; 10 (5): e1001439 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001439