The Role of Emotional Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence and Health Among Women in Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

As part of the World Health Organization's cross-national research effort, we investigated the relationship between various health indicators and the experience of intimate partner violence (IPV), which included emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, among women in Yokohama, Japan. We used multivariate logistic and negative binomial regression to examine the relationship between health status and IPV in a stratified cluster sample of 1371 women aged 18 to 49 years. In 9 of 11 health indicators examined, the odds of experiencing health-related problems were significantly higher (P < .05) among those that reported emotional abuse plus physical or sexual violence than among those that reported no IPV, after we controlled for sociodemographic factors, childhood sexual abuse, and adulthood sexual violence perpetrated by someone other than an intimate partner. For most health indicators, there were no significant differences between those that reported emotional abuse only and those that reported emotional abuse plus physical or sexual violence. The similarity of outcomes among those that reported emotional abuse only and those that reported emotional abuse plus physical or sexual violence suggests the need for increased training of health care providers about the effects of emotional abuse.