Exposure to intimate partner violence reduces the protective effect that women’s high education has on children’s corporal punishment: a population-based study

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that women's education is protective against corporal punishment (CP) of children. However, the effect that women's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) has on the association between women's education and children's CP has not been studied.ObjectiveTo understand how the interaction between women's exposure to IPV and their education level influences the occurrence of children's CP at the household level.MethodsWe selected 10,156 women who had at least one child less than 16 years old from cross-sectional data from the 2006–2007 Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey. Children's CP was defined as the punishment of children by slapping them, hitting them with a fist, or hitting them with a rope, belt, stick, or other object. IPV was measured by using a conflict tactic scale. The WHO Self-Reporting Questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20) was used to assess the women's mental health. We computed adjusted risk ratios (ARR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator.ResultsWomen's exposure to IPV was associated with a 10–17% increase in the risk of children's CP. IPV and children's CP were associated with impaired women's mental health. Women's lifetime exposure to emotional IPV and controlling behavior by a partner significantly decreased the protective effect from women's high education level on children's CP. When women were exposed to emotional IPV, the protective effect from having a college education decreased from ARR=0.61 (95% CI 0.47–0.80) to ARR=0.98 (95% CI 0.80–1.19). A similar pattern was found among women exposed to controlling behavior by a partner, the protective effect decreased from ARR=0.71 (95% CI 0.53–0.90) to ARR=0.86 (95% CI 0.70–1.06).ConclusionThis study shows how significant gains in one positive social determinant of children's well-being can be undermined when it interacts with men's violence toward women. Policies that aim to end children's CP must include actions to end women's exposure to IPV.

Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health

“…The authors underscore the need to tailor violence prevention interventions to the specific cultural context of the population and to supplement efforts to shape community attitudes towards IPV with more individually based interventions. Salazar et al ( 17 ) explore the intersections between IPV and corporal punishment of children in Nicaragua. In general, increased women's education serves as protective factor for corporal punishment.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Understanding the experience of psychopathology after intimate partner violence: the role of personality (v0.1)"

“…A small body of research has documented how personality influences the relationship between IPV and psychosocial functioning. As an example, the experience of IPV has been shown to reduce the protective effect of high education on the chances of child maltreatment (Salazar, Dahlblom, Solórzano & Herrera, 2014). However, studies describing how personality characteristics are associated with the experience of IPV are scarce.…”

Understanding the experience of psychopathology after intimate partner violence: the role of personality

“…A small body of research has documented how personality influences the relationship between IPV and psychosocial functioning. As an example, the experience of IPV has been shown to reduce the protective effect of high education on the chances of child maltreatment (Salazar et al, 2014). However, studies describing how personality characteristics are associated with the experience of IPV are scarce.…”