Assessment of Intimate Partner Violence Among High-Risk Postpartum Mothers: Concordance of Clinical Measures

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) may be a more common problem than some conditions for which pregnant women are routinely screened and evaluated. Screening for IPV necessitates competence in assessment using reliable and valid instruments. The present study examines the concordance in the prevalence of abuse reported by 436 high-risk postpartum mothers using (1) a single item hospital screen, (2) trained paraprofessional interviewer-interview format, and (3) the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), a standardized research instrument. The hospital screen identified 4% of the sample as scared, threatened or hurt, the Family Stress Checklist (FSC) identified 16.9% of the fathers as having severe potential for violence, and the CTS identified 18.6% of the sample as victims of physical abuse at the hands of the baby's father. There was minimal overlap between the ratings of severe potential for violence and the occurrence of violence as assessed by the CTS. Study findings illustrate the inadequacy of current procedures for detecting IPV with high-risk populations and highlight the need to develop reliable and valid assessments that can be easily utilized in the hospital setting.