the relationship between postpartum depression and domestic violence, mediated by marital satisfaction, among women in the postpartum period

Background: postpartum depression (ppd) and domestic violence are both significant public health concerns that disproportionately affect women. objectives: the purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of marital satisfaction in the relationship between ppd and domestic violence among women in the postpartum period.methods: this descriptive study employed a structural equation modeling approach. the sample comprised 319 postpartum women who visited healthcare centers in ahvaz city in 2023. participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. research instruments included the edinburgh postnatal depression scale, the violence against women questionnaire, and the marital satisfaction scale. the collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with spss-26 and amos-26 statistical software. bootstrapping, a resampling technique, was employed to assess the significance of the indirect effect of domestic violence on ppd through marital satisfaction, thereby specifically examining the mediation hypothesis.results: the results demonstrated a significant negative correlation between domestic violence and marital satisfaction (β=-0.37, p=0.001). pdd and marital satisfaction were significantly correlated (β=-0.31. p=0.001). additionally, domestic violence was positively correlated with pdd (β=0.25, p=0.008). bootstrapping results also confirmed a significant indirect effect of domestic violence on pdd through marital satisfaction (p=0.029).conclusion: it found that domestic violence negatively impacts marital satisfaction, which in turn can increase the risk of pdd. the study suggests that mental health professionals should consider both domestic violence and marital distress when assessing postpartum women and that interventions aimed at improving marital satisfaction may help reduce the risk of pdd.