Categories and health impacts of intimate partner violence in the World Health Organization multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) damages health and is costly to families and society. Individuals experience different forms and combinations of IPV; better understanding of the respective health effects of these can help develop differentiated responses. This study explores the associations of different categories of IPV on women’s mental and physical health. Methods: Using data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence, multilevel mixed effects logistic regression modelling was used to analyse associations between categories of abuse (physical IPV alone, psychological IPV alone, sexual IPV alone, combined physical and p..