Dataset Information

Psychological intimate partner violence against women in the European Union: a cross-national invariance study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a worldwide public health problem. One of the most frequent forms of this type of violence in western societies is psychological IPVAW. According to the European Union (EU) Fundamental Rights Association (FRA) the prevalence of psychological IPVAW in the EU is 43%. However, the measurement invariance of the measure addressing psychological IPVAW in this survey has not yet been assessed. METHODS:The aim of this study is to ensure the cross-national comparability of this measure, by evaluating its measurement invariance across the 28 EU countries in a sample of 37,724 women, and to examine how the levels of this type of violence are distributed across the EU. RESULTS:Our results showed that the psychological IPVAW measure presented adequate psychometric properties (reliability and validity) in all countries. A latent structure of one factor was supported and scalar invariance was established in all countries. The average levels of psychological IPVAW were higher in countries like Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden compared to the rest of the EU countries. In many of the other countries the levels of this type of violence overlapped. CONCLUSION:Our findings underlined the importance of using appropriate statistical methods to make valid cross-national comparisons in large population surveys.

SUBMITTER: Martin-Fernandez M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6935167 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Psychological intimate partner violence against women in the European Union: a cross-national invariance study.

Martín-Fernández Manuel M Gracia Enrique E Lila Marisol M

BMC public health 20191227 1

<h4>Background</h4>Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a worldwide public health problem. One of the most frequent forms of this type of violence in western societies is psychological IPVAW. According to the European Union (EU) Fundamental Rights Association (FRA) the prevalence of psychological IPVAW in the EU is 43%. However, the measurement invariance of the measure addressing psychological IPVAW in this survey has not yet been assessed.<h4>Methods</h4>The aim of this study is ...[more]

PMID: 31881950

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Project description:Background The persistence and impacts of violence against women motivated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.2 to end such violence. Global psychometric assessment of cross-country, cross-time invariance of items measuring intimate partner violence (IPV) is needed to confirm their utility for comparing and monitoring national trends. Methods Analyses of seven physical-IPV items included 377,500 ever-partnered women across 20 countries (44 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)). Analyses of five controlling-behaviors items included 371,846 women across 19 countries (42 DHS). We performed multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) to assess within-country, cross-time invariance of each item set. Pooled analyses tested cross-country, cross-time invariance using DHSs that showed configural invariance in country-level multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFAs). Alignment optimization tested approximate invariance of each item set in the pooled sample of all datasets, and in the subset of countries showing metric invariance over at least two repeated cross-sectional surveys in country-level MGCFAs. Results In country-level MGCFAs, physical-IPV items and controlling-behaviors items functioned equivalently in repeated survey administrations in 12 and 11 countries, respectively. In MGCFA testing cross-country, cross-time invariance in pooled samples, neither item set was strictly equivalent; however, the physical-IPV items were approximately invariant. Controlling-behaviors items did not show approximate cross-country and cross-time invariance in the full sample or the sub-sample showing country-level metric invariance. Conclusion Physical-IPV items approached approximate invariance across 20 countries and were approximately invariant in 11 countries with repeated cross-sectional surveys. Controlling-behaviors items were cross-time invariant within 11 countries but did not show cross-country, cross-time approximate invariance. Currently, the physical-IPV item set is more robust for monitoring progress toward SDG5.2.1, to end IPV against women.

Project description:IntroductionIntimate partner violence against women is one of the most common forms of violence. Different research fields are trying to understand the cycle of violence, such as the psychological field, to understand how these women's relational patterns and intrapsychic conflict function in the cycle of violence.ObjectiveTo investigate the operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis of women victims of domestic violence, exploring the severity and experience of violence, structural functions, dysfunctional interpersonal patterns, and intrapsychic conflicts.MethodWe conducted a cross-sectional quantitative study using the OPD-2 Clinical Interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. The sample was composed by 56 women victims of domestic violence, mean age 30.07 (SD = ±9.65). Reliability was satisfactory for judges interviews(k>0,6).ResultsAccording to the OPD-2 evaluation, we found that the severity of the violence was associated with the intensity of women's subjective suffering. In the relational pattern, they stay in the relationship, leaving themselves vulnerable; perceive the partner as controlling, aggressive, offensive, and fear abandonment. As a defensive mechanism to relational discomfort and suffering victims anticipate the aggressor's desire, resulting in submissive behavior. The main psychic conflict was the "need for care versus self-sufficiency" (78.6%). And medium was the predominant structure level, in which they presented insecure internal objects, presenting difficulties in emotional regulation and perceiving reality in a distorted way. Hence, they do not recognize their limitations and needs. We found that 78.6% of the cases had some psychiatric disorder: MDD, PTSD.ConclusionThis study provides empirical evidence on clinical observations on the psychological functioning of this population and the issues that make up the maintenance of domestic violence against women. The understanding of internalized patterns, structural functions, and motivational tensions are fundamental for the prevention of re-victimization and improving coping mechanisms, as well as promoting greater adherence to treatment.

Project description:PurposeViolence against women during pregnancy is a serious public health concern due to its significant adverse health consequences for both the mother and the baby. This study aims to systematically identify common health problems and synergistic health correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) that specifically affect pregnant women.MethodsWe mine large-scale electronic health record (EHR) data from the IBM Explorys database to identify health problems that are prevalent in both IPV and pregnancy populations, as well those that are synergistically associated with the presence of IPV during pregnancy. For this purpose, we develop methods that enhance the statistical reliability of identified patterns by constructing confidence intervals that take into account systematic bias and measurement errors in addition to the variance in estimation.ResultsWe identify with high confidence 668 and 2750 terms that are respectively prevalent in respectively IPV and pregnancy populations. Of these terms, 279 are common. We also identify 16 synergistic health correlates with high confidence. Our results suggest that mental health, substance abuse, and genitourinary complications are prevalent among pregnant women exposed to IPV. The synergistic terms we identify reveal potential conditions that can be direct consequences of trauma (e.g., tibial fracture), long-term health consequences (e.g., chronic rhinitis), markers associated with the demograhics of affected populations (e.g., acne), and risk factors that potentially increase vulnerability during pregnancy (e.g., disorders of attention and motor control).ConclusionsOur results indicate that IPV significantly affects the well-being of pregnant women in multiple ways. The findings of this study can be useful for screening of IPV in pregnant women. Finally, the methodology presented here can also be useful for investigating the synergy between other medical conditions using EHR databases with privacy constraints.

Dataset Information

Psychological intimate partner violence against women in the European Union: a cross-national invariance study.

Publications

Psychological intimate partner violence against women in the European Union: a cross-national invariance study.

Similar Datasets

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