Pediatric Brain Injuries are Associated With Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injuries Among Women in Adulthood

Anjeli R Macaranas; Aylin E Tanriverdi; Annie-Lori Joseph; Grant L Iverson; Eve M Valera

doi:10.1097/HTR.0000000000001022

Pediatric Brain Injuries are Associated With Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injuries Among Women in Adulthood

J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2024 Nov 18. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000001022. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Anjeli R Macaranas¹, Aylin E Tanriverdi, Annie-Lori Joseph, Grant L Iverson, Eve M Valera

Affiliation

¹ Author Affiliations: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (Ms Macaranas); Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (Mss Macaranas, Tanriverdi, and Joseph, and Dr Valera); Harvard College, Cambridge, MA (Ms Tanriverdi); Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA (Ms Joseph); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (Dr Iverson); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation, Charlestown, MA (Dr Iverson); Mass General for Children Sports Concussion Program, Boston, MA (Dr Iverson); Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Charlestown, MA (Dr Iverson); and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (Dr Valera).

PMID: 39616435
DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000001022

Abstract

Objective: Prior studies have reported associations between childhood physical abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV). However, there has been limited literature examining the relationship between pediatric brain injuries and IPV-related brain injuries later in life. We examined the association between childhood brain injuries and brain injuries sustained from IPV in adulthood.

Setting: Participants were recruited through Mass General Brigham's "Rally," social media, and information sheets distributed in locations likely to serve women in current or past abusive relationships (eg, domestic violence shelters, and IPV support programs).

Participants: Women who have experienced IPV with and without brain injury (n = 129), ages 19 to 69.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional study design.

Main measures: We administered the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method and the Brain Injury Severity Assessment to assess brain injury history, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). A logistic regression was used to examine the association between pediatric brain injuries and IPV-related brain injuries, adjusting for childhood trauma, years of education, and age.

Results: A majority of participants (64.3%) reported experiencing at least 1 IPV-related brain injury, and 30.2% experienced at least 1 childhood brain injury. Child abuse-related brain injuries occurred in 10.9% of the sample, whereas childhood brain injuries from other causes occurred in 19.4% of participants. Participants who sustained at least 1 childhood BI were significantly more likely to sustain a future IPV-related brain injury as an adult (OR = 4.652, P = .004). For each additional childhood BI sustained, participants were more likely to sustain an IPV-related BI (OR = 3.198, P = .005).

Conclusion: This study illustrates a high prevalence of childhood brain injuries among women who have experienced IPV and identifies an association between pediatric brain injuries and brain injuries due to partner violence in adulthood. Our findings speak to the urgency of increasing our understanding of childhood brain injuries and whether they or other related factors might confer an increased risk for brain injuries or possibly IPV later in life.