Pregnancy and Violence Against Women: An Analysis of Longitudinal Data

Results from research using hospital samples and anecdotal reports from victims have suggested that pregnancy may be a time of increased risk for assaults against women. Research using national probability samples, however, indicates that pregnant women may not be at greater risk for victimization than women who are not pregnant, once the analyses control for the effects of age. The current study used data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households and focused on the relationship between pregnancy and four patterns of violence: no violence, persistent violence, violence cessation, and violence initiation. The sample included 3,500 couples who were either married or cohabiting during the first wave of the study and who were still with the same partner during the second wave 5 years later. The results suggested that first pregnancy, as well as unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, was significantly associated with violence category.