| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Domestic violence, often referred as intimate partner violence, is an emerging
public health concern, which contributes to the mortality and morbidity of women worldwide and
has adverse impacts on both physical and mental health.
Objective: The study seeks to find the prevalence of domestic violence and its association with
mental health issues in women from urban areas.
Method: The Urban Health Survey 2006 data set was used in this study to determine the
prevalence and effect of domestic violence on the mental health condition of women living in slum
and non-slum areas of Bangladesh. The data set for female participants contained 9,707 currently
married women participants, who were aged between 13 to 59 years old. Multivariate logistic
regression was done in STATA 12.0 to understand the strength of association between domestic
violence and poor mental health outcome.
Results: The distribution of lifetime domestic violence among the participant in slum and non-
slum areas were 54.6% and 45.4% respectively. Types of violence reported include, slapping
(51.1%), pushing (35.6%), punching (26.2%), kicking (20.9%), trying to kill/burn (6.64%), and
forced sexual act (19.43%). Women experiencing domestic violence at least once in their life also
have been found to have reported suicidal ideation (8.3%), difficulty in enjoying daily activities
(52.4%), and feeling worthless (16.2%). Any form of violence experienced by the respondents in
lifetime showed association (OR 4.97, 95% CI 3.04-8.13, p<0.05) with emotional distress, based
on the SRQ-20 scale of mental health status.
Discussion: Based on the secondary data analysis, prevalence of lifetime domestic violence among
the participant was found to be higher in slum areas than the non-slum areas. In the context of
Bangladesh in 2006, married women reporting violence in their lifetime showed statistically
significant relationship with poor mental health conditions, indicating further necessities to
conduct national-level research and reformation in policy-making level. | en_US |
