Abstract
In this study, we examined the impact of severe polyvictimization on 30-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Data were collected from 34 participants in the “Leave it on the Mat” pilot study. The study was conducted in an urban city in a Midwestern state from August 2012 to April 2014. Severe polyvictimization was considered present if participants reported a history of three or more forms of victimization (childhood exposure to domestic violence, being psychologically or physically abused in childhood, and lifetime sexual assault) in addition to IPV. CVD risk factors included smoking, body mass index (BMI), and systolic blood pressure (SBP). A Framingham-based prediction model was used to estimate 30-year CVD risk. A linear regression model, adjusted for age, education, race/ethnicity, and family history of CVD, was calculated. Fifty percent (n = 17) of the study participants reported severe polyvictimization and the average 30-year risk of CVD in the full sample was 22.3. Participants who experienced severe polyvictimization had higher 30-year CVD risk scores when compared to participants who experienced two or fewer forms of victimization. The findings revealed that severe polyvictimization was prevalent among survivors of IPV and was associated with increased scores on the 30-year CVD risk model. Screening for abuse history could aid identification of individuals at high CVD risk.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 491-507 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Interpersonal Violence |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health Award Number UL1TR000114. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Additional support was provided by the Program in Health Disparities Research and the Applied Clinical Research Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 SAGE Publications.
Keywords
- cardiovascular disease
- intimate partner violence
- maltreatment
- polyvictimization