Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1999 Feb;89(2):241–244. doi: 10.2105/ajph.89.2.241

Wife abuse among women of childbearing age in Nicaragua.

M C Ellsberg 1, R Peña 1, A Herrera 1, J Liljestrand 1, A Winkvist 1
PMCID: PMC1508545  PMID: 9949757

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study measured the prevalence, frequency, and severity of physical wife abuse and its risk factors in León, Nicaragua. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a representative sample of 488 women 15 to 49 years of age. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of spousal violence was 52% among ever-married women (n = 360). Spousal violence was significantly positively associated with poverty, parity, urban residence, and history of violence in the husband's family. No significant associations were found between spousal violence and women's age, education, marital dependency, or occupation. CONCLUSIONS: Wife abuse constitutes a major public health problem in Nicaragua, requiring urgent measures for prevention and treatment for victims.

Full text

PDF
241

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abbott J., Johnson R., Koziol-McLain J., Lowenstein S. R. Domestic violence against women. Incidence and prevalence in an emergency department population. JAMA. 1995 Jun 14;273(22):1763–1767. doi: 10.1001/jama.273.22.1763. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Diaz Olavarrieta C., Sotelo J. Domestic violence in Mexico. JAMA. 1996 Jun 26;275(24):1937–1941. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fischbach R. L., Herbert B. Domestic violence and mental health: correlates and conundrums within and across cultures. Soc Sci Med. 1997 Oct;45(8):1161–1176. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(97)00022-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Grisso J. A., Schwarz D. F., Miles C. G., Holmes J. H. Injuries among inner-city minority women: a population-based longitudinal study. Am J Public Health. 1996 Jan;86(1):67–70. doi: 10.2105/ajph.86.1.67. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Heise L. L., Raikes A., Watts C. H., Zwi A. B. Violence against women: a neglected public health issue in less developed countries. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Nov;39(9):1165–1179. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90349-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Heise L. L. Violence against women: an integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women. 1998 Jun;4(3):262–290. doi: 10.1177/1077801298004003002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hotaling G. T., Sugarman D. B. An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: the current state of knowledge. Violence Vict. 1986 Summer;1(2):101–124. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kornblit A. L. Domestic violence--an emerging health issue. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Nov;39(9):1181–1188. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90350-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Koss M. P. The women's mental health research agenda. Violence against women. Am Psychol. 1990 Mar;45(3):374–380. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.45.3.374. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McFarlane J., Parker B., Soeken K. Abuse during pregnancy: associations with maternal health and infant birth weight. Nurs Res. 1996 Jan-Feb;45(1):37–42. doi: 10.1097/00006199-199601000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. O'Campo P., Gielen A. C., Faden R. R., Xue X., Kass N., Wang M. C. Violence by male partners against women during the childbearing year: a contextual analysis. Am J Public Health. 1995 Aug;85(8 Pt 1):1092–1097. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.8_pt_1.1092. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schei B., Bakketeig L. S. Gynaecological impact of sexual and physical abuse by spouse. A study of a random sample of Norwegian women. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1989 Dec;96(12):1379–1383. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1989.tb06298.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Valdez-Santiago R., Sanín-Aguirre L. H. La violencia doméstica durante el embarazo y su relación con el peso al nacer. Salud Publica Mex. 1996 Sep-Oct;38(5):352–362. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Wessel L., Campbell J. C. Providing sanctuary for battered women: Nicaragua's casas de la mujer. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 1997 Sep-Oct;18(5):455–476. doi: 10.3109/01612849709009424. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Zelaya E., Peña R., García J., Berglund S., Persson L. A., Liljestrand J. Contraceptive patterns among women and men in León, Nicaragua. Contraception. 1996 Dec;54(6):359–365. doi: 10.1016/s0010-7824(96)00203-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES