(PS1-D93) Mental Health Outcomes Related to Reproductive Coercion Victimization Among Young Adults

Reproductive coercion (RC) victimization is a serious public health problem that may increase the risk for poor mental health outcomes among reproductive-aged women. RC occurs when a person attempts to control the autonomous reproductive decision making of their intimate partner (Grace & Anderson, 2018), and includes behaviors such as birth control sabotage (e.g., hiding or destroying contraception) and pregnancy coercion (e.g., forcing or pressuring someone to become pregnant Research has shown that between 8-19% of women experience some form of RC victimization from a male partner during their lifetime (Grace & Anderson, 2018). Among women, reproductive coercion is associated with adverse health outcomes such as unintended pregnancy and an increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (Alexander et al., 2019; Capasso et al., 2019; Gee et al., 2009). Recent research has demonstrated that RC is associated with poor mental health outcomes, including PTSD symptoms and depression, in a community sample of Black women (Alexander et al., 2021). Given the limited amount of research on mental health and RC, the current study seeks to replicate and build on these findings by examining the association between RC victimization and mental health outcomes, including depression, PTSD symptoms, and anxiety in a diverse sample of young adults.

Participants were recruited as part of an ongoing longitudinal study on dating violence in seven Texas public high schools when students were, on average, 15 years old. Current data are from Year 6 of this study and the subsample includes 367 female-identifying young adults (mean age = 20). The sample identified as 28.9% White/Non-Hispanic, 32.7% Latinx/Hispanic, 25.7% Black/African American, 4.6% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 8.1% as more than one race. Participants completed an online survey, including a 10-item measure of RC (Miller et al., 2010), a measure of depression (CESD-Short Form; Andresen et al., 1994), anxiety (SCARED; Birmaher et al., 1999), and PTSD symptomology (PC-PTSD; Prins et al., 2003).

Results demonstrated that 11.2% of participants reported experiencing some form of RC in their lifetime. Three independent-samples t-tests were conducted to compare mental health outcomes among victims and non-victims of RC. Results demonstrated a significant difference between victims (M= 11.81, SD= 6.49) and non-victims (M= 9.92, SD= 4.91) on depression symptoms t(365)= -2.21, p= .05. Further, there was a significant difference between victims (M= 1.93 SD= 1.63) and non-victims (M= .96, SD= 1.41) on PTSD symptoms t(365)= -4.05, p< .05. No such difference emerged for anxiety symptoms. Consistent with previous research, the results suggest that across racial and ethnic groups, individuals who experience RC are at an increased risk of experiencing depression and trauma-related symptoms. Future research should consider examining potential moderators of the relationship between RC and mental health outcomes, such as access to social support.