Abstract
BackgroundIn Nigeria, there is paucity of information on the IPV burden and experience among young women in courtship and dating relationships. This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of IPV in female undergraduate and postgraduate students in a tertiary institution.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional survey. A four-stage sampling technique was used to select 1,100 undergraduate and 255 postgraduate female students from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Data was collected using a 43-item self-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were carried out at 0.05 level of significance.ResultsThe life-time prevalence of IPV was 42.3% (postgraduate: 34.5%, undergraduate: 44.1%; P < 0.05). Lifetime experience of psychological, physical and sexual IPV were 41.8%, 7.9% and 6.6% respectively. Recent experience (within the previous 12 months) of violence was also more frequently reported by respondents who had a previous history of physical (62.5%) (OR = 2.65; 95% CI: 2.02-3.49) and sexual (53.2%) (OR = 1.63; 95% CI:1.12-2.35) violence than respondents who had no such history. Postgraduate (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46-0.87) and married (OR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.35-0.78) students were less likely to have experienced IPV than undergraduate and single students respectively. Students who smoked (OR = 2.46; 95% CI: 1.58-3.83); consumed alcohol (OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.82- 3.06); and with history of interparental violence (OR = 2.40; 95% CI: 1.88- 3.07) had a higher likelihood of experiencing violence than students who were not exposed to these behaviors. Adverse effects (such as the inability to concentrate) of IPV on academic performance were reported by 10.3% of victims.ConclusionThe prevalence of IPV was high. There is the urgent need for interventions that will reduce vulnerability by addressing modifiable risk factors like smoking and alcohol consumption. Interventions should also encourage seeking health care following violence to reduce its consequences.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6874-14-131) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In Nigeria, there is paucity of information on the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) burden and experience among young women in courtship and dating relationships
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women is recognized as a problem of global magnitude, owing to its detrimental consequences on the health, social and economic welfare of women and their children [1,2,3,4]
Young women college students experience high levels of IPV over the course of their schooling, with prevalence rates ranging between 9% and 87% [7]
Summary
In Nigeria, there is paucity of information on the IPV burden and experience among young women in courtship and dating relationships. Studies have indicated that only 1 to 4% of women disclose IPV exposure to relevant authorities due to a lack of trust, “respect” for husband and family, fear of reprisal attacks, economic dependence on the abusive partner, and concern for the safety and welfare of children [8,9,10] While all this may be the case, data from the Sub-Saharan African region indicate that significant proportions of women themselves justify IPV [11,12], providing anecdotal support for the importance of the role played by attitudes towards IPV in disclosure of and exposure to IPV
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