Epidemiology

Psychiatry and Intimate Partner Violence
Investigator: Mary Kernic, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Funding: National Institute of Mental Health
4/1/04 – 4/30/10

This career development proposal includes three research projects that are related to the psychiatric sequelae of intimate partner violence on its victims and their children. The initial investigation of this proposal involves the use of data from the National Comorbidity Survey to examine the psychometric properties of diagnoses obtained using the University of Michigan adaptation of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI) among women who are current victims of intimate partner violence relative to women who are not.  Measures of internal consistency reliability and differential and discriminant validity are assessed for several diagnoses among women who were experiencing intimate partner violence concurrent with assessment compared to women who were not experiencing intimate partner violence at the time of assessment.

The second investigation uses a prospective cohort design to assess the effects of maternal depression, a common psychiatric diagnosis of victims of intimate partner violence, on the occurrence and comorbidity of child behavioral problems.  Child outcomes evaluated will include antisocial, anxious/depressed, hyperactive, headstrong, dependent and peer conflict behavioral problems, risk-taking behaviors, substance abuse, and criminal or delinquent activities.  Additionally, important mediating factors will be identified to outline the direct and indirect mechanisms of this association.  These goals will be accomplished using a pre-existing dataset of a nationally representative cohort of mothers and children.

The third investigation is a prospective cohort study of recently divorced women who have both children in common and a history of intimate partner violence with their ex-spouse.  The purpose of this study will be to assess whether more restrictive custody arrangements are associated with protective effects on mother and child psychiatric morbidity.  Characteristics of the custody arrangement will serve as the exposure of interest and outcomes of interest will include psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder among mothers and their children.

Soccer Injuries in Girls
Investigator: Melissa Schiff, M.D., M.P.H.
Funding: National Institutes of Health
9/13/07 – 7/31/13

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the U.S. with girls participating in increasing numbers. As prior studies have documented that female youth players have a higher rate of injury compared to males, a prospective study of this young population is needed to determine injury incidence rates of soccer players as well as risk factors that predispose some girls to soccer injuries. Investigators  propose to perform a four-year, prospective, cohort study of 400 premier soccer players in the Seattle area to 1) determine the incidence rate of injuries among female youth soccer players aged 12 to 14 years, 2) prospectively evaluate lower extremity muscle strength, specifically hip flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction; the hamstring to quadriceps ratio of muscle strength; and jump biomechanics as potential injury risk factors, and 3) evaluate the type of soccer playing surface as a potential extrinsic risk factor. Researchers will use an email injury surveillance system to determine soccer injury incidence rates as well as to collect data on the type and location of injury and amount of time lost from soccer participation. All subjects will be evaluated by physical therapists at the beginning of the soccer season for hip and knee muscle strength and jump biomechanics. They will also perform a nested case control study to evaluate type of playing surface as a risk factor. The successful completion of this grant will identify specific risk factors for soccer injuries that will be useful in the development of future injury prevention strategies.