[The Relationship Between Domestic Violence and the Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms in Married Women Between 15 and 49 Years of Age in a Rural Area of Manisa, Turkey]

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of depression in women of reproductive age (15-49 years) and to determine if there was a relationship between depression score, and socioeconomic variables and the presence of domestic violence.

Method: The study group included women aged 15-49 years that lived in the Manisa/Muradiye Health Center catchment area. The minimum sample size was calculated as 224 and multistage sampling was used (random sampling plus cluster sampling). In all, 225 women enrolled in the study and were administered the BDI and a sociodemographic questionnaire that collected depressive symptomatology, domestic violence, and sociodemographic data. In addition to the descriptive data, univariate and multivariate odds ratios were obtained. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis.

Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms (BDI score≥17) was 14.7%. In all, 32.9% of the women had experienced domestic violence. Multivariate analysis revealed that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly higher among the women that had experienced domestic violence and reported having a chronic illness (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The rates of depressive symptoms and domestic violence were quite high among the married women in this study. Preventive mental health programs should be developed and implemented in the study area.