Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Problems in Married Women in Rural Central India: A Community-based Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant social issue affecting women in rural India, with deleterious consequences for their physical and mental health. The “mental health problems and psychosocial factors associated with IPV” is an under-researched topic in Central India. The cross-sectional observational descriptive study was part of a project aimed at strengthening the health sector response to gender-based violence. Eighty consenting women from 19 villages in a district in Central India, who acknowledged experiencing IPV, participated in the study. A predesigned and pretested sociodemographic questionnaire, the WHO multicountry women’s questionnaire, and self-report scales for depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were used to interview the women. The mean age of the respondents was 31.13 ± 6.96 years. The majority of the women (95%) experienced severe physical violence. In addition, a majority of these women simultaneously faced emotional abuse, whereas more than one-third suffered from sexual abuse from their partners. Self-reporting measures showed that nearly two-thirds of the participants had PTSD and moderate-to-severe depression and anxiety. A substantial number of study participants believed that IPV is a private matter for a couple and justified violence if the wife was unfaithful, disobedient, or neglectful of children and household duties. The under-reporting of IPV, presence of misconceptions, and high prevalence of associated mental health problems among IPV-affected women highlight the need for interventions tailored to the needs of battered women.