TY - JOUR
T1 - The contribution of socio-economic position to the excesses of violence and intimate partner violence among Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal women in Canada
AU - Daoud, Nihaya
AU - Smylie, Janet
AU - Urquia, Marcelo
AU - Allan, Billie
AU - O'Campo, Patricia
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements: The authors thank the Maternity Experiences Study Group of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System who developed and implemented the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey; and the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) who reviewed the paper to ensure it benefitted from their wisdom and experience. Dr. Smylie is supported by a CIHR New Investigator award in Knowledge Translation.
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - Objective: To examine the contribution of socio-economic position (SEP) in explaining the excess of any abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) among Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal women in Canada. This comparison has not been studied before. Methods: We conducted logistic regression analysis, using nationwide data from a weighted sample of 57,318 Canadian-born mothers of singletons who participated in the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey 2006-7. Results: The unadjusted odds of any abuse and IPV were almost four times higher among Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 3.91 (95% CI 3.12-4.89) and OR 3.78 (2.87-4.97), respectively. Adjustment for SEP reduced the unadjusted OR of any abuse and IPV by almost 40%. However, even with this adjustment, the odds of any abuse and IPV for Aboriginal mothers remained twice that of non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 2.34 (1.82-2.99) and OR 2.19 (1.60-3.00), respectively. Conclusions: SEP is a predominant contributor to the excess of abuse against Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal women in Canada. Reducing violence against Aboriginal women can be achieved mostly by improving their SEP, and simultaneously be informed by social processes and services that can mitigate abuse. The fact that SEP did not fully explain the excess of abuse among the Aboriginal women might lend support to "colonization or postcolonial theories," and related contextual factors such as differences in community social resources (e.g., social capital) and services. The effect of these factors on the excess of abuse warrants future research.
AB - Objective: To examine the contribution of socio-economic position (SEP) in explaining the excess of any abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) among Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal women in Canada. This comparison has not been studied before. Methods: We conducted logistic regression analysis, using nationwide data from a weighted sample of 57,318 Canadian-born mothers of singletons who participated in the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey 2006-7. Results: The unadjusted odds of any abuse and IPV were almost four times higher among Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 3.91 (95% CI 3.12-4.89) and OR 3.78 (2.87-4.97), respectively. Adjustment for SEP reduced the unadjusted OR of any abuse and IPV by almost 40%. However, even with this adjustment, the odds of any abuse and IPV for Aboriginal mothers remained twice that of non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 2.34 (1.82-2.99) and OR 2.19 (1.60-3.00), respectively. Conclusions: SEP is a predominant contributor to the excess of abuse against Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal women in Canada. Reducing violence against Aboriginal women can be achieved mostly by improving their SEP, and simultaneously be informed by social processes and services that can mitigate abuse. The fact that SEP did not fully explain the excess of abuse among the Aboriginal women might lend support to "colonization or postcolonial theories," and related contextual factors such as differences in community social resources (e.g., social capital) and services. The effect of these factors on the excess of abuse warrants future research.
KW - Aboriginal peoples in Canada
KW - Colonialization
KW - Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
KW - Socioeconomic position
KW - Violence against women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84884687569&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.17269/cjph.104.3724
DO - 10.17269/cjph.104.3724
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84884687569
SN - 0008-4263
VL - 104
SP - e278-e283
JO - Canadian Journal of Public Health
JF - Canadian Journal of Public Health
IS - 4
ER -