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Validation of alternative indicators of social support in perinatal outcomes research using quality of the partner relationship.

ABSTRACT: To test alternatives to the current research and clinical practice of assuming that married or partnered status is a proxy for positive social support.Having a partner is assumed to relate to better health status via the intermediary process of social support. However, women's health research indicates that having a partner is not always associated with positive social support.An exploratory post hoc analysis focused on posttraumatic stress and childbearing was conducted using a large perinatal database from 2005-2009.To operationalize partner relationship, four variables were analysed: partner ('yes' or 'no'), intimate partner violence ('yes' or 'no'), the combination of those two factors, and the woman's appraisal of the quality of her partner relationship via a single item. Construct validity of these four alternative variables was assessed in relation to appraisal of the partner's social support in labour and the postpartum using linear regression standardized betas and adjusted R-squares. Predictive validity was assessed using unadjusted and adjusted linear regression modelling.Four groups were compared. Married, abused women differed most from married, not abused women in relation to the social support, and depression outcomes used for validity checks. The variable representing the women's appraisals of their partner relationships accounts for the most variance in predicting depression scores.Our results support the validity of operationalizing the impact of the partner relationship on outcomes using a combination of partnered status and abuse status or using a subjective rating of quality of the partner relationship.

SUBMITTER: Kruse JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4321943 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Validation of alternative indicators of social support in perinatal outcomes research using quality of the partner relationship.

Kruse Julie A JA Low Lisa Kane LK Seng Julia S JS

Journal of advanced nursing 20120926 7

<h4>Aim</h4>To test alternatives to the current research and clinical practice of assuming that married or partnered status is a proxy for positive social support.<h4>Background</h4>Having a partner is assumed to relate to better health status via the intermediary process of social support. However, women's health research indicates that having a partner is not always associated with positive social support.<h4>Design</h4>An exploratory post hoc analysis focused on posttraumatic stress and child ...[more]

PMID: 23009056

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Project description:A large body of cross-sectional evidence finds strong and consistent associations between social support and intimate partner violence (IPV). However, the directionality of this relationship has not been firmly established due to a dearth of longitudinal evidence. Using cohort study data collected over a 3 year period from 945 women in rural Pakistan, we investigated the longitudinal relationship between IPV and social support. Friend and family social support was measured with the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, and IPV was measured with questions adopted from the World Health Organization's Violence Against Women Instrument, which was used to construct a measure of IPV severity. We estimated longitudinal associations in linear regression models that controlled for women's educational level, age at marriage, age, household composition, household assets, depressive symptoms, and Adverse Childhood Experiences. We found evidence of a bi-directional, mutually re-enforcing relationship that showed unique associations by type of social support. Specifically, we found that high social support from family, though not friends, decreased IPV severity 1 year later, and that higher IPV severity led to reductions in both friend and family social support 1 year later. Results suggest that interventions involving family members could be especially effective at reducing IPV in this context, and – given that low social support leads to many adverse health outcomes – results suggest that IPV can result in secondary harms due to diminished social support. In summary, our study confirms a bi-directional relationship between IPV and social support and suggests that IPV interventions that integrate social support may be especially effective at reducing IPV and mitigating secondary harms. Highlights • Directionality between social support and intimate partner violence (IPV) unclear.• Investigated bi-directional relationship between IPV and social support.• Used longitudinal cohort study data from rural Pakistan.• High social support from family, though not friends, decreased IPV severity.• Higher IPV severity led to reductions in both friend and family social support.

Dataset Information

Validation of alternative indicators of social support in perinatal outcomes research using quality of the partner relationship.

Publications

Validation of alternative indicators of social support in perinatal outcomes research using quality of the partner relationship.

Similar Datasets

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