Background: The data on the prevalence of substance abuse in Iranian pregnant women is scarce in the current literature. This study investigated the prevalence of and the factors associated with substance abuse among pregnant women, and compared self-reported use with urine test results. Methods: This cross-sectional study included data for 2000 pregnant women admitted to a tertiary care hospit...

In some relationships, pregnancy is a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV). We present a case of a 34-year-old, 28-week-pregnant woman who was admitted to the emergency department with multiple traumas due to IPV. Her husband had hit her with a power cable after abusing methamphetamine. There were multiple ecchymoses and lacerations on her body. On questioning, the patient revealed a...

BACKGROUND Reliable prevalence estimates of family violence in adults and children are difficult to obtain. Most are based on surveys or registration counts, whose research designs and methods are often questionable, making the results difficult to compare. This article presents an alternative approach. METHODS The capture-recapture method (CRC), which makes it possible to estimate unknown nu...

BACKGROUND The United Nations in a resolution defined abuse as any violent act that is primarily or exclusively committed against females and results in physical, sexual and psychological harm. OBJECTIVES The aim of this research was to study the contributing factors of husband's violence against females residing in the city of Behshahr, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS We distributed a specific...

A palpable alarm echoed throughout Hong Kong when two young children were chopped to death and another critically wounded by their father before he hanged himself on 20 January 2002. Domestic violence in the form of homicide, suicide, spouse battering, and child abuse are among the most common social and mental health problems worldwide. Such incidents are but the tip of an invisible iceberg of...

BACKGROUND Social support has a strong impact on individuals, not least on older individuals with health problems. A lack of support network and poor family or social relations may be crucial in later life, and represent risk factors for elder abuse. This study focused on the associations between social support, demographics/socio-economics, health variables and elder mistreatment. METHODS Th...

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to examine the associations between demographics and reproductive characteristics on the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in young women. STUDY DESIGN An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 727 women between 14 and 26 years old who were seen in the family planning clinics in southeast Texas between March 1997 and February 1998 and who reported a cur...

Codependency is considered to be a dysfunctional form infused with the extreme focus outside oneself. Spouses of male substance abusers derive sense purpose from marital relationship, while neglecting their own self-esteem, personal life, self-worth and autonomy. It not only affects psychological health but also varied by number sociodemographic factors that may contribute functionality spouses...