Intimate Partner Violence and Reproductive Health Among Methamphetamine-Using Women in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Pilot Study

Abstract

Abstract Among women, methamphetamine (meth) use has been associated with intimate partner violence (IPV); however, few studies have looked at the context of IPV. This qualitative pilot study explored the experiences of meth-using women in Los Angeles County regarding: (1) IPV in their most recent primary relationship; (2) use of contraception and reproductive health services; and (3) meth use during pregnancy. Participants (n=30) were recruited through community advertising and at three addiction treatment centers to participate in 15-20 minute, semi-structured interviews recorded with handwritten transcripts. The team analyzed transcripts for key themes. Participants reported IPV (n=19, 63%) as recipients (50%), perpetrators (40%), and/or both (27%), occurring mainly during active meth use or withdrawal. While most (n=25) continued meth use during at least one pregnancy, some (n=5, 17%) identified pregnancy as a motivation to quit or reduce use, suggesting an opportunity for intervention. Though most women knew about free and low-cost reproductive health services, few accessed them, with 33% citing aspects of meth use itself as a barrier. One-third (45/133) of reported pregnancies were terminated by abortion. Most women (67%) began using before age 18, suggesting need for screening and intervention among adolescents.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 30 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.