Domestic violence against Iranian pregnant adolescents: protective and risk factors

Abstract

Background: Domestic violence is an important health, which has serious impacts on women's health. The study aimed to discover the protective and risk factors of domestic violence among pregnant adolescents.Materials and Methods: In the analytical cross-sectional study, 255 eligible pregnant women aged 14-20 years who have beenreferred to Al-Zahra Hospital, in northern Iran between September 2020 and March 2022 participated. Demographical characteristicswere recorded by a questionnaire. Domestic violence was assessed using the instrument of violence against women. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic features of the data.Results: The frequency of physical, emotional, and sexual violence was respectively 13.33%, 23.52%, and 9.01%. The risk factors included the spouse’s substance use (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.25–4.62), spouse’s low education (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.12–3.52), spouse’s unemployment (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03–1.57) and domestic violence exposure in childhood (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.46–2.51). Higher education for women was a protective factor for domestic violence (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.45–0.83).Conclusions: The education level is a protective factor against domestic violence among pregnant adolescents. These results can help to design the most appropriate prevention programs to reduce the risk factors for violence among pregnant adolescents.