Study of the Relationship between Domestic Violence Intensity during Pregnancy and Mother-Infant Attachment

Background and Mother–infant attachment has gained momentum in mental health in recent years. Also partner violence against pregnant women is an important health problem all over the world. The present study was designed to determine the relationship between domestic violence intensity in pregnancy and mother-infant attachment. Methods and Materials: In this deh1ive analytical study 102 pregnant women admitted to healthcare centers in Mashad in 2008 were included through stratified clustered sampling. Information on domestic violence during pregnancy was collected through "Conflict Tactics Scale" and "Mother to Infant Attachment Inventory" 4-5 weeks after delivery. Obtained data were analyzed in SPSS using Spearman correlation coefficient Kruskal Wallis Mann Whitney U and multiple regression. In general 89.2% of women experienced very mild 9.8% experienced mild and 1% moderate levels of domestic experience from their partners. Negative significant relationships were found to exist between verbal (p=0.032 r= - 0/21) and physical violence (p=0.005 r= - 0.27) injuries (p=0.018 r= - 0.23) total score of violence (p=0.002 r= - 0.29) and mother-infant attachment. Also mean scores of psychological (p=0.026 ms=15/9±12/94) and physical (p=0.002 ms=9/1±11/12) violence injuries (p=0.006 ms= 2/5±3/47) and total score of violence (p=0.038 ms= 47/6±33/68) were significantly higher in the group of partners dissatisfied from the pregnancy of their wives. However no significant differences were found between educational levels of men and women and different types of violence. The results indicate the correlation of verbal and physical violence as well as injuries during pregnancy with mother–infant attachment.