Preventing mental health problems in mothers with a history of childhood abuse through reducing their risk of intimate partner violence: A causal mediation analysis in an Australian pregnancy cohort

Abstract

Background: Women with a history of child maltreatment are more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Both are associated with poor mental health. Using causal mediation analysis, we aimed to estimate the potential reduction in mental health risk if mothers who experienced childhood abuse were not at increased risk of IPV. Methods: Data was from a pregnancy cohort (n = 1507) followed up at 1, 4, 10 years postpartum. Child physical/sexual abuse were retrospectively reported, IPV was measured at each follow-up, and mental health symptoms (any depressive, anxiety or post-traumatic stress symptoms) at 10 years. We used a simulation-based g-computation to estimate change in mental..