Intimate partner violence norms cluster within households: an observational social network study in rural Honduras

Abstract

BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex global problem, not only because it is a human rights issue, but also because it is associated with chronic mental and physical illnesses as well as acute health outcomes related to injuries for women and their children. Attitudes, beliefs, and norms regarding IPV are significantly associated with the likelihood of both IPV experience and perpetration.MethodsWe investigated whether IPV acceptance is correlated across socially connected individuals, whether these correlations differ across types of relationships, and whether social position is associated with the likelihood of accepting IPV. We used sociocentric network data from 831 individuals in rural Honduras to assess the association of IPV acceptance between socially connected individuals across 15 different types of relationships, both within and between households. We also investigated the association between network position and IPV acceptance.ResultsWe found that having a social contact that accepts IPV is strongly associated with IPV acceptance among individuals. For women the clustering of IPV acceptance was not significant in between-household relationships, but was concentrated within households. For men, however, while IPV acceptance was strongly clustered within households, men’s acceptance of IPV was also correlated with people with whom they regularly converse, their mothers and their siblings, regardless of household. We also found that IPV was more likely to be accepted by less socially-central individuals, and that the correlation between a social contact’s IPV acceptance was stronger on the periphery, suggesting that, as a norm, it is held on the periphery of the community.ConclusionOur results show that differential targeting of individuals and relationships in order to reduce the acceptability and, subsequently, the prevalence of IPV may be most effective. Because IPV norms seem to be strongly held within households, the household is probably the most logical unit to target in order to implement change. This approach would include the possible benefit of a generational effect. Finally, in social contexts in which perpetration of IPV is not socially acceptable, the most effective strategy may be to implement change not at the center but at the periphery of the community.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-2893-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Longitudinal associations of intimate partner violence attitudes and perpetration: Dyadic couples data from a randomized controlled trial in rural India

“…While we know that perpetration of IPV is intergenerational (Stith et al, 2000), there is growing evidence that norms around IPV may also be transmitted through families (Clark et al, 2010; Morse et al, 2012). The IPV acceptance attitudes of mothers may significantly impact the IPV acceptance attitudes of their sons, and people who live within the same household are likely to share IPV acceptance attitudes (Shakya et al, 2016). In patrilocal contexts such as India, in which married men and their wives are expected to live with the man’s parents, this could be a particularly important consideration.…”

“…Answer choices were either yes or no. Consistent with previous research we coded a person as positive on IPV acceptance if they answered positively to any of the five questions (Shakya et al, 2016). Cronbach’s alpha for the women’s responses were 0.91 (WV1), 0.91 (WV2), 0.96 (WV3), and for the men’s response they were 0.81 (WV1), 0.83 (WV2), 0.81 (WV3).…”

“…This has been found in countries all over the world including several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, north Africa, Vietnam, and Honduras (Hindin et al, 2008; Khawaja et al, 2008; Shakya et al, 2016; Uthman et al, 2009). A detailed analysis of 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa revealed that women were more likely than men to accept IPV in communities with high rates of polygamy, lower literacy, and communities that are lower on gender and human development indices (Uthman et al, 2010).…”

“…While women are more likely to accept IPV than men, concordance between spouses on attitudes towards IPV is common in many settings (Alio et al, 2011; Shakya et al, 2016). This is not surprising given that married couples tend towards concordance on attitudes around many issues, affective states, and even health outcomes (Meyler et al, 2007; Pachucki et al, 2011; Shakya, 2015).…”

Social normative and social network factors associated with adolescent pregnancy: a cross-sectional study of 176 villages in rural Honduras

“…Social norms operate within reference groups, or the groups of people to whom an individual turns for expectations regarding what is common and what is acceptable [14,24,25]. Reference groups may comprise proximal relationships such as close friendships, social communities that are an extension of proximal relationships, or a wider community such as a village [14].…”