Perception of Stress Among Women in the Municipality of Vitória, Brazil, According to Experiences of Violence
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT Objective: to verify the association between perceived stress and experiences of sexual violence in childhood and intimate partner violence throughout life and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: this is a population-based cross-sectional study conducted in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, from January to May 2022, with 1,086 women aged 18 years or older who had or had had an intimate partner in the last 24 months. Perceived stress was assessed using the short version of the Perceived Stress Scale with descriptions by absolute and relative frequencies, mean, standard deviation, and bivariate tests using ANOVA and Student’s t-test. The association was verified by simple and multiple linear regression, considering p<0.20 and maintenance when p<0.05, performed in Stata 17.0. Results: the perception of stress was associated with victimization of two (β = 4.90; 95%CI: 3.65-6.15) and three (β = 3.83; 95%CI: 2.51-5.15) types of violence throughout life, while women who experienced one (β = 2.68; 95%CI: 1.30-4.06) or two (β = 3.60; 95%CI: 1.64-5.56) types of intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic had a higher perception of stress. Conclusion: there is an association between the perception of stress and exposure to intimate partner violence throughout life and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings are fundamental to understanding intimate partner violence as an important stress-generating exposure among women.
Source: Texto & Contexto - Enfermagem
Institution: Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $138
Awards: G4467052143, G51284321
OpenAlex ID: W7212919581