Differential Associations Between Partner Violence and Physical Health Symptoms Among Caucasian and African American Help-Seeking Women

Abstract

The relationship between partner violence and physical health symptoms is well-established. Although some researchers have theorized that the physical health effects of partner violence may be worse for ethnic minority women, there is little research addressing this topic. The current study examined whether African American women demonstrate a differential association in this relationship than Caucasian women. This study included 323 women (232 African American, 91 Caucasian) who participated in a larger investigation of the psychological and psychophysiological correlates of recent partner violence among women seeking help for the abuse. Race was examined as a moderator of the relationship between partner violence frequency and physical health symptoms. Although mean levels of partner violence frequency and physical health symptoms did not significantly differ between African American and Caucasian women, linear regression analyses demonstrated a significant positive relationship between partner violence frequency and physical health symptoms for African American women; whereas there was no association observed between these variables for Caucasian women. Post hoc analyses revealed that posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms partially mediated the association between partner violence frequency and physical health symptoms for the African American women. The current findings underscore the importance of considering race when studying the effect of partner violence on women's health.

Keywords: moderation; partner violence; physical health; race; women.

Figure 1

Regression lines for the relationships between physical partner violence frequency and physical health symptoms as moderated by race. The lines illustrate the variability in physical health symptom severity at 1 standard deviation (SD) above and below the mean level of partner violence frequency.