Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Is There a Causal Link between Maltreatment and Adolescent Pregnancy? a Literature Review

The relationship between violence and women's reproductive lives is a relatively new line of inquiry. In June 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a national conference on the topic, with three main objectives: to assess the state of the research, to increase awareness and understanding of the possible associations between violence against women and their reproductive lives, and to lay the groundwork for future research and action. The conference addressed the association between violence and such specific topics as pregnancy intentions, contraceptive use, pregnancy termination and pregnancy outcomes. Research reported at the conference indicated that violence is present during 4–8% of all pregnancies. In addition , violence is implicated in inconsistent contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy. Finally, evidence about the relationship between violence during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, particularly the likelihood of delivering a low-birth-weight infant, is inconclusive. Beside research findings, several methodological recommendations emerged from the conference: to broaden study populations beyond women in battered women's shelters, and include those attending family planning, abortion, and HIV and sexually transmitted disease clinics; to refine data collection methods to improve disclosure of victimization; to obtain additional data on the relationship between violence and intervening variables; and to develop and evaluate more effective screening and intervention programs. 1 Most research on violence and women's reproductive lives has focused on adults. Whether this research is gen-eralizable to adolescents remains to be seen. Research on maltreatment and adolescent pregnancy has not been as widespread as research on maltreatment and adult pregnancy because of access issues. 2 First, access brings with it complex legal and ethical issues related to obtaining permission from parents or guardians for minor adolescents to participate in research. Maltreated adolescents are not likely to be residing in domestic violence shelters, because the permission of the parent or guardian may be required, and the parent or guardian may be the perpetrator or may have knowledge about the maltreatment that he or she does not want to disclose. Second, access brings with it complex legal and ethical issues related to researchers as mandated reporters of child abuse, incest and statutory rape. Third, access is an obstacle because adolescents may hide or deny maltreatment for fear of being removed from their homes, alienating their partners or being placed in foster care. The overall goal of this study was to determine if there is sufficient research evidence to support a causal link …

暴力与妇女生殖生活之间的关系是1999年6月的相对新询问，疾病控制与预防中心召集了有关该主题的全国会议，并具有三个主要目标：评估研究状况，以增加意识和理解对妇女的暴力行为及其生殖生活之间的关联，并为未来的研究和行动奠定基础。在会议上报告的暴力和避孕药，怀孕终止和妊娠结局等特定主题。怀孕。低出生的婴儿，在研究结果之外尚无定论，会议中出现了一些方法论建议：将研究人群扩大到炮台妇女庇护所中，包括参加计划生育，堕胎和HIV和性传播疾病诊所的妇女；优化数据收集方法以改善胜利的披露；评估更有效的筛查和干预计划。虐待和成人怀孕是由于访问问题2。父母或监护人参加研究。他或她不想披露的虐待。法定强奸，第三名是一个障碍，因为青少年可能会隐藏或拒绝虐待，因为他们担心被疏远的伴侣疏远或放在寄养方面。支持因果关系…