In a recent paper, Keyes and colleagues estimated the lifetime prevalence for women experiencing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as being 25%. Women who had experienced GBV had 3.6 and 2.5 times the odds, respectively, of meeting lifetime mood/anxiety and substance use disorder criteria. The number of different types of GBV experienced and the number of incidents of GBV were associated with risk for both types of disorders in a dose-response fashion. When examined simultaneously, number of types of GBV experienced was the stronger predictor of mood/anxiety and substance use disorders. First experience of GBV during childhood and adolescence was associated with a larger increase in the odds of mood/anxiety and substance use disorders than first experiences during adulthood.
The researchers used data from 20,089 women from wave 2 (2004-2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative health surveillance survey.
