Spouses of male psychiatric patients are more prone to intimate partner violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a great public health concern. Most studies have evaluated different risk factors of IPV in general population, but few have evaluated the perpetration of IPV by subjects with psychological disease. We evaluated the prevalence of IPV among spouses of men with psychiatric disease. In this descriptive study, we questioned 119 women whose husbands were in-patient or out-patients of psychology clinic. A validated questionnaire was used for evaluation IPV and its different subtypes. All women reported to encounter some kind of IPV in some periods. Women reported emotional abuse in 100%, physical abuse in 99.2% and sexual abuse in 81.5%. None of the patients were eager to tell anyone about being victim of IPV due to religious beliefs, society culture and believing in their marital status and trying to keep their marriage. IPV is higher among families with men having psychological disease. Policy makers and clinicians should predominantly target these families. Also, empowering women may reduce the risk of intimate partner violence.

Keywords: Intimate partner violence; Men's health; Psychological disease.