Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for post-natal depression

Abstract

Postnatal depression (PND) is highly prevalent in the contemporary society. The risk for PND increases with previous history of mental health issues, poor social economic status, and the exposure to stressful events. Many women across the globe experience IPV and face its negative outcomes such as physical injury or mental health degradation. The existing literature lacks a detailed discussion on the relationship between exposure to IPV and the risk of developing PND. Addressing this gap in the literature is necessary to manage the symptoms of depressive disorder in the postnatal phase more effectively. This literature review aims at identifying whether the exposure to IPV increases the risk of PND. The research question reads: Is intimate partner violence a risk factor for post-natal depression? Online database were searched using specific keywords related to the research topic. The search results were scrutinised before retrieving studies for the final research. After the scrutiny, a total of eight studies were included in this literature review. These studies presented evidence from different research designs such as systematic review, cross sectional, and longitudinal studies. The critical appraisal tools utilised in this study were the PRISMA Checklist, the CASP tools for randomised controlled studies and cohort studies, and the AXIS tool. This literature review indicated that the exposure to IPV is a predictor of PND among women. Risk factors which play a role in this relationship include substance misuse by the partner, the lack of social support, and poor financial status. The mental health issues such as anxiety and depression increases with lack of social support and degraded financial condition. The substance abuse by intimate partner also increases the risk of violence and therefore, the risk of PND also increases. Findings of the study are targeted towards healthcare professionals such as psychiatric nurses, and healthcare policy makers. These findings are also useful for the development of integrated management strategies in Malta. Future research should be performed in Malta to obtain a better understanding on the local situation, provided that limited research is available locally.