High Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Young Adulthood: Is Prevention Failing?

Abstract

In the last decades, prevention measures have been taken globally to reduce the high prevalence of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) in our societies. As a consequence, a gradual reduction in the prevalence of IPVAW in the younger generations should be expected. However, international prevalence data suggest that this is not the case. In the present study, we aim to compare IPVAW-prevalence rates across age groups in the adult population in Spain. We used data from the Spanish 2019 national survey based on 9,568 interviews with women, reporting IPVAW in three time periods: lifetime, the last 4 years, and the last year. To ensure accurate comparisons of IPVAW-prevalence rates across age groups, we first examined the psychometric properties, and measurement invariance of the set of questions addressing the different types of IPVAW (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological) in this survey. Results supported a three-factor latent structure addressing psychological, physical, and sexual IPVAW, showing high-internal consistency and validity evidence. For lifetime prevalence, the youngest age groups (18–24 years) were those with the highest latent mean in psychological and physical IPVAW, with those aged 25 to 34 years having the highest score in sexual IPVAW. Women aged 18 to 24 years showed the highest factor scores in the three types of violence during the last 4 years and during the last year. A number of potential explanatory hypotheses are proposed to better understand the high prevalence of IPVAW among younger generations. The reason why IPVAW prevalence remains alarmingly high among young women, despite the preventive measures taken in recent years, is a research question that remains open. Prevention efforts should target younger generations if IPVAW is to be eradicated in the long term. However, this goal will only be achieved if those prevention efforts prove to be effective.

The Perceived Severity of Adolescent Dating Violence (PS-ADV) Scale: A Validation Study

“…This instrument could also be used to test the effectiveness of programs and interventions that aim to prevent DV in both educational and community settings. The PS-ADV scale could also be used to monitor whether there has been an impact on adolescent attitudes following awareness campaigns and prevention policies (Gracia et al, 2023;Gracia et al, 2020), and could be useful for identifying adolescents at risk of DV and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and prevention strategies that address this vulnerable population.…”

Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Latin America: A Systematic Review

“…Analyzing and understanding attitudes toward IPVAW are crucial for improving strategies for preventing, intervening in, and eradicating this type of violence (Gracia et al, 2023). This can help build a solid evidence base to compare and monitor attitudes across countries, as well as raise awareness, foster more effective public programs and policies, and monitor regional progress in the fight against IPVAW (Bott et al, 2021).…”

Attitudes justifying partner violence against women in Latin-American and Caribbean countries: A measurement invariance study.

“…For example, the latest global prevalence data show that IPVAW is already high even among the youngest generations, with a lifetime prevalence at 24% for the 15–19-year-age cohort, only two points lower than the lifetime prevalence for women of all ages (WHO, 2021). This prevalence indicates insufficient progress in reducing IPVAW among younger generations, which is at odds with the benefits that this age group should have received from decades of preventive initiatives at the global, national, and local levels (Gracia et al, 2023). Clearly, other indicators other than just prevalence data are important to understand those factors that may reduce or perpetuate levels of IPVAW within and across countries.…”