Health Care Use of Children Whose Female Caregivers Have Intimate Partner Violence Histories
Abstract
Objective To determine whether prior exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with children's subsequent emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative sample of children reported to Child Protective Services between 1999 and 2000. Participants Families of children reported to Child Protective Services who were assessed through comprehensive caregiver interviews at baseline and 18 and 36 months. Main Exposure Severe or minor IPV, as measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale 1. Main outcome measures Number of ED visits or hospitalizations from baseline to the 18-month assessment (interval 1, n = 2689) and from the 18-month to the 36-month assessment (interval 2, n = 2546). Results Compared with children whose female caregivers reported no IPV at baseline, children whose female caregivers disclosed severe IPV at baseline had significantly higher rates of ED visits over both subsequent intervals (interval 1, incidence rate ratio [IRR], 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-2.9; interval 2, IRR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2-3.0). In contrast, rates of hospitalizations were lower in the second interval for children whose female caregivers disclosed minor IPV as compared with no IPV at baseline (IRR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.6). Conclusions Further research is required to elucidate the complex relationship between IPV and child health care use. Such an…
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Of 30 women who disclosed domestic violence in an urban paediatric outpatient clinic, over half reported that at least one of their children had watched and/or heard this violence.
“Bair-Merritt et al. (2008), in their study of domestic violence screening in an urban paediatric outpatient clinic found that, of the 30 women who disclosed domestic violence, over half reported that at least one of their children had watched and/or heard this violence.”
From A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH (2014) · cites this paper as Bair-Merritt et al., 2008
Children of women victims of IPV are more likely to experience higher rates of emergency room visits at 18 months (RR 2.0) and 36 months (RR 1.9).
“and more likely to experience higher rates of emergency room visits at 18 months (RR 2.0) and 36 months (RR 1.9) (Bair-Merritt et al., 2008).”
From A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH (2014) · cites this paper as Bair-Merritt et al., 2008
Much of the research on children's exposure to domestic violence relies on maternal or primary caregiver reports of IPV and does not verify or corroborate these reports with children themselves or with official documents such as medical records.
“Much of the research on children's exposure to domestic violence relies on maternal or primary caregiver reports of IPV, and does not verify or corroborate these reports with those of children themselves, or with official documents such as medical records”
From A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH (2014) · cites this paper as Bair-Merritt et al., 2008
Cites
Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review
Kitzmann, K. M., Gaylord, N. K., Holt, A. R., & Kenny, E. D. (2003) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.71.2.339 · Cited by 1,524 · see citing works
The effects of children's exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis and critique
Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. V., Lee, V., McIntyre-Smith, A., & Jaffe, P. G. (2003) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1023/a:1024910416164 · Cited by 970 · see citing works
Maternal depressive symptoms and infant health practices among low-income women
Chung, E. K., McCollum, K. F., Elo, I. T., Lee, H. J., & Culhane, J. F. (2004) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.e523 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
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Saltzman, K. M., Holden, G. W., & Holahan, C. J. (2005) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_12 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
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Yount, K. M., DiGirolamo, A. M., & Ramakrishnan, U. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.02.042 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Artz, S., Jackson, M. A., Rossiter, K. R., Nijdam-Jones, A., Géczy, I., & Porteous, S. (2014) · International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies · doi:10.18357/ijcyfs54201413274 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
“…likely to use health care services and take prescription medications than children who have not been exposed to domestic violence (Olofsson et al., 2011), and more likely to experience higher rates of emergency room visits at 18 months (RR 2.0) and 36 months (RR 1.9) (Bair-Merritt et al., 2008).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
- Authors
- Bair-Merritt, M. H., Feudtner, C., Localio, A. R., Feinstein, J. A., Rubin, D., & Holmes, W. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 2008-02-01
- Volume
- 162
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 134
- ISSN
- 1072-4710 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2142820836
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (2T32 HP 10026-10)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, children exposed to domestic violence, women caregivers, emergency department visits, hospitalization, child health care utilization, child protection services, Conflict Tactics Scale
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child Health Services, Child, Preschool, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, Humans, Infant, Interviews as Topic, Male, Regression Analysis, Retrospective Studies, Caregivers, Domestic Violence
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