acceptance of intimate partner violence

AcceptanceofIntimatePartnerViolenceAnnaR.Eckenrode

|DepartmentofEconomics|Advisors:YanivStopnitzky&JesseAnttila-Hughes|

Data&Methods:

Tolinkcouples’attitudestowardintimatepartnerviolence,IdrawondatafromtheDemographicandHealthSurveys(DHS),acollectionofnationallyrepresentativesamplesofwomen(generally15-49)andofmen(generally15-59).Inordertobeincludedinthisstudy,surveysmustincludebothfemaleandmaleresponsestothedomesticviolencemodule,whichincludestheattitudestowardIPVquestions.Duetothatcriterion,onlyCouplesRecodesurveyscompletedaftertheyear2000canbeincluded,meaningthispaperuses113surveysin56countries.ThissurveyaskswhenpeoplebelieveintimatepartnerviolenceisappropriateinordertoascertaintheacceptanceofIPV.IusethismeasuretoavoidunderreportingofprevalenceofIPV.Frequently,thereislesssocialstigmawhendiscussingbeliefsaboutviolencethanwhenadmittingtobeingavictimorperpetratorofIPV,becauseofsocialdesirabilitybias(Sugarman&Hotaling,1997).Inaddition,Iusedataonancestralagriculturaltoolsusedinpreindustrialsocietiesbydifferentethnicities.TheEthnographicAtlas(EA)isourdatasourcefortoolusage;oursamplecomprisesthe102,569coupleswithploughdatabyethnicgroup.Themeasureofploughagricultureisconstructedfromthevariablev39oftheEthnographicAtlas,whichisadatasetthatcontainsinformationon1,265ethnicgroups(Murdock,1967).

ResearchQuestions:•  Howdotheunderlyingmechanismsofsocialnormsandbargainingpowerrelatetotheacceptance

ofintimatepartnerviolencewithinhouseholds?•  Whatdoesglobalacceptanceofintimatepartnerviolencelooklike?•  DoestheextenttowhichonepartnerbelievesIPVisacceptabledependonthebeliefsoftheir

partner?•  DoeslivinginapatriarchalsocietyinfluencetheextenttowhichsomeonebelievesIPVis

justifiable?ThelevelatwhichacoupledisagreesabouttheacceptabilityofIV?

ProblemStatement: •  TheWorldHealthOrganizationreportsthat1in3womenworldwidewillexperiencesexualand/or

physicalintimatepartnerviolenceintheirlifetime(WHO,2017).•  Intimatepartnerviolence(IPV)referstocoerciveandassaultivebehaviorsthatcanincludephysical

assaultofkicking,hitting,orbeating;coercivesex;orpsychologicalattacksofhumiliation,belittling,andintimidation(Garcia-Morenoetal.,2005;Ibrahimetal.,2014;Owoaje&OlaOlarun,2012).

KeyFindings:

•  Ifindthatfemalesaremoreacceptingthanmalesofintimatepartnerviolence,andfemalesbecomingmoreeducatedisassociatedwithherbeinglessacceptingofviolence,evenifhermalepartnerbelievesitisjustifiable.

•  Beingamemberofamorepatriarchalsocietydoesnothavearelationshipwiththeextentto

whichanindividualbelievesIPVisacceptable,butitisassociatedwithcouplesdisagreeingmoreoftenabouttheacceptabilityofIPV.

OutcomeMeasures:Extent:DHSsurveyrespondentsareaskedifahusbandisjustifiedinbeatinghiswifeifshe(i)burnsthefood,(ii)goesoutwithouttellinghim,(iii)neglectsthechildren,(iv)refusessex,and(v)argueswithherhusband.Bothmalesandfemalesareaskedtheseyesornoquestionsinordertodeterminetheextentofacceptanceofviolence.Iconstructthisvariablebysummingupthenumberoftimesafemaleandmaleresponds“yes”toanyofthefivequestionsaboutIPVontheDHS.Thesetwovariablescantakeonthevalues0–5. Disagreement:Theprimaryoutcomeofinterestisthedisagreementmeasure,createdbymeasuringtheanglebetweenthetwovectorsofthecouple’sresponsestotheIPVquestions.Icreatedtwo1x10vectorsincludedyesornoresponsesandIdon’tknowresponses,inordertocoverthedifferentcombinationsofanswerstothesefivequestionsbyacouple.Usingthecosinesimilarityformula,Iwasthenabletocalculatetheanglebetweenthetwovectors.AlargervaluefortheangleindicatesacoupledisagreeswitheachotherabouttheacceptantofIPVtoahigherdegree.Thesmallertheanglemeasure,themorethecoupleagreesacrossthefivescenarios.