The association between intimate partner violence onset and gender-specific depression: A longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social problem that is often hidden, unnoticed or ignored. However, few studies have explored the effects of partner violence onset and/or persistence on the mental health of individuals. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between IPV onset and depressive symptoms in both married men and women. Methods: In this study, nationally representative data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study were employed to track 1040 men and 3732 women for a period of six years (2010-2015). Depressive symptoms were scored according to the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-11). Results: Of our study population, 415 men (39.9%) and 866 women (23.2%) suffered from continuous intimate partner violence, meaning that they reported experience of IPV in both the previous and current year of investigation. Such subjects had significantly higher CES-D-11 scores (men beta: 1.745, p <= 0001; women beta: 1.970, p <= 0001) as did subjects whose partners turned violent from non-violent (men beta: 1.623, p <= 0001; women beta: 1.594, p <= 0001) than those with continuously non-violent partners (reference group). Subjects whose partners turned non-violent from violent continued to be more depressed (men beta: 0.312, p <= 009; women beta: 0.880, p <= 000) than those with continuously non-violent partners. Through subgroup analysis, we also found that lower SES, as a covariate relative to educational attainment, household income, and economic status, was associated with worsened depression following IPV onset. Unemployed women with consistently violent partners (beta: 2.957, p <=.0001) and unemployed men with newly violent partners (beta: 3.010, p <= .0001) were more depressed than the employed or self-employed. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that continuous IPV, as well as its onset, can have serious consequences for the mental health of its victims.