TABLE 2—
Prevalence of Abuse for the Full Weighted Sample, for Mothers Below the Low-Income Cutoff (LICO), and for Lone Mothers: Maternity Experiences Survey, Canada, 2006–2007
| Variables | Full Sample (Weighted n = 76 500), % (95% CI) | Mothers Below LICO (Weighted n = 14 100), % (95% CI) | Lonea Mothers (Weighted n = 6400), % (95% CI) |
| Abuse | |||
| Any in past 2 y | 10.9 (10.1, 11.8) | 21.1 (18.6, 23.5) | 35.3 (31.2, 39.5) |
| None | 89.1 (88.3, 89.9) | 78.9 (76.5, 81.4) | 64.7 (60.5, 68.8) |
| Abuse items | |||
| Threatened to hit | 5.4 (4.8, 6.0) | 12.2 (10.3, 14.2) | 23.4 (19.7, 27.1) |
| Threw something | 4.5 (4.0, 5.0) | 9.9 (8.1, 11.7) | 16.9 (13.6, 20.2) |
| Pushed, grabbed, shoved | 7.0 (6.3, 7.7) | 15.6 (13.4, 7.8) | 27.6 (23.7, 31.5) |
| Slapped | 2.6 (2.2, 3.0) | 6.9 (5.4, 8.4) | 12.4 (9.6, 15.3) |
| Kicked | 3.4 (2.9, 3.8) | 7.1 (5.6, 8.6) | 13.9 (11.0, 16.9) |
| Hit | 1.9 (1.5, 2.2) | 4.5 (3.3, 5.7) | 7.6 (5.4, 9.8) |
| Beat | 0.8 (0.5, 1.0) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.0)b | 5.1 (3.2, 7.0)b |
| Choked | 1.1 (0.9, 1.4) | 3.5 (2.4, 4.6) | 7.4 (5.1, 9.7) |
| Used or threatened gun or knife | 0.9 (0.6, 1.1) | 2.7 (1.7, 3.6)b | 5.0 (3.1, 6.9)b |
| Forced sex | 0.7 (0.5, 0.9) | 2.3 (1.4, 3.2)b | 3.2 (1.8, 4.7)b |
| Abuse frequency | |||
| 1 time | 4.6 (4.1, 5.2) | 7.2 (5.7, 8.7) | 9.0 (6.6, 11.3) |
| 2–5 times | 4.0 (3.5, 4.5) | 8.5 (6.8, 10.2) | 14.7 (11.6, 17.8) |
| ≥ 6 times | 2.1 (1.7, 2.4) | 4.8 (3.5, 6.1) | 10.6 (7.9, 13.3) |
| Abuse perpetrator | |||
| Partner | 5.7 (5.1, 6.3) | 12.0 (10.0, 13.9) | 23.3 (19.6, 27.0) |
| Family member | 1.8 (1.5, 2.1) | 3.3 (2.3, 4.4) | 4.4 (2.7, 6.1)b |
| Friend or acquaintance | 1.4 (1.1, 1.7) | 3.8 (2.7, 5.0) | 5.7 (3.6, 7.7)b |
| Stranger or other | 2.3 (1.9, 2.7) | 3.0 (2.0, 4.1)b | 3.9 (2.2, 5.6)b |
| Abuse timing | |||
| Before pregnancy only | 6.0 (5.3, 6.6) | 12.0 (10.0, 14.0) | 18.4 (15.0, 21.7) |
| During pregnancy only | 1.4 (1.1, 1.7) | 2.0 (1.1, 2.8)b | 3.7 (2.2, 5.3)b |
| After birth only | 1.0 (0.7, 1.2) | 1.7 (0.9, 2.4)b | 2.0 (0.8, 3.1)b |
| Before and during pregnancy | 1.2 (0.9, 1.4) | 2.4 (1.5, 3.3)b | 4.8 (2.8, 6.7)b |
| Before pregnancy and after birth | 0.5 (0.4, 0.7)b | 1.3 (0.6, 1.9)b | 2.9 (1.4, 4.4)b |
| During pregnancy and after birth | 0.2 (0.1, 0.3)b | 0.4 (0.1, 0.8)c | 1.2 (0.2, 2.2) |
| At all 3 times | 0.5 (0.3, 0.7)b | 0.9 (0.4, 1.5)b | 1.8 (0.7, 2.8)b |
Note. CI = confidence interval. The LICO reflects whether the respondent lived in a household spending 20 percentage points more of their after-tax income on food, shelter, and clothing than the average family, thus leaving less income available for other expenses such as health, education, transportation, and recreation. The LICOs are set here at after-tax income levels, differentiated by size of family and area of residence.46
Lone mothers include those single, divorced, separated, or widowed.
Coefficient of variation is between 16.6% and 33.3%, indicating marginal quality of the estimates; caution is required in interpreting these results.
Coefficient of variation is above 33.3%, indicating poor quality of the estimates. Extreme caution is required in interpreting these results.