TABLE 1—
Descriptive Characteristics of Ever-Married Women in Nigeria and by Exposure to Spousal Violence: 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey
| Characteristics | Sample Characteristics,a No. (%) or Mean ±SD | Exposure to Spousal Violence,b No. (%) or Mean ±SD |
| Total | 18 798 (100) | 3506 (18.7) |
| Age, y | ||
| 15–19 | 1606 (8.54) | 163 (10.1) |
| 20–24 | 3076 (16.4) | 540 (17.6) |
| 25–29 | 4261 (22.7) | 878 (20.6) |
| 30–39 | 6002 (31.9) | 1208 (20.1) |
| 40–49 | 3853 (20.5) | 717 (18.6) |
| Education | ||
| No education | 9040 (48.1) | 1146 (12.7) |
| Primary | 4216 (22.4) | 1153 (27.3) |
| Secondary | 4287 (22.8) | 1039 (24.2) |
| Higher | 1255 (6.68) | 168 (13.4) |
| Wealth quintile | ||
| Lowest | 4888 (26.0) | 724 (14.8) |
| Second | 4071 (21.7) | 683 (16.8) |
| Middle | 3550 (18.9) | 810 (22.8) |
| Fourth | 3282 (17.5) | 744 (22.7) |
| Highest | 3007 (16.0) | 545 (18.1) |
| Marital status | ||
| Formerly married | 884 (4.7) | 317 (35.9) |
| Single-wife marriage | 13 506 (71.9) | 2385 (17.7) |
| Polygamous marriage | 4296 (22.9) | 783 (18.2) |
| Not reported | 112 (0.6) | 21 (18.8) |
| Employment status | ||
| Employed | 12 477 (66.4) | 2674 (21.4) |
| Not employed | 6321 (33.6) | 832 (13.2) |
| Religion | ||
| Catholic | 1671 (8.89) | 497 (29.7) |
| Other Christian | 6743 (35.9) | 1894 (28.1) |
| Muslim | 10 006 (53.2) | 1013 (10.1) |
| Traditionalist/other | 378 (2.01) | 102 (27.0) |
| Location | ||
| Urban | 5389 (28.7) | 938 (17.4) |
| Nonurban | 13 409 (71.3) | 2568 (19.2) |
| Household size | ||
| 1–4 people | 7774 (41.4) | 1330 (17.1) |
| 5–7 people | 7333 (39.0) | 1489 (20.3) |
| ≥8 people | 3691 (19.6) | 687 (18.6) |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Fulani and Hausa | 6528 (34.7) | 463 (7.1) |
| Igbo | 2093 (11.1) | 528 (25.2) |
| Yoruba | 2691 (14.3) | 378 (14.0) |
| Other | 7486 (39.8) | 2137 (28.5) |
| History of family abuse | ||
| Father abused mother | 2011 (10.7) | 897 (44.6) |
| Father did not abuse mother | 16 787 (89.3) | 2609 (15.5) |
| Attitudes toward spousal violencec | ||
| Do not accept violence | 9893 (52.6) | 1502 (15.2) |
| Accept violence | 8905 (47.4) | 2004 (22.5) |
| Continuous score on 0–5 scale | 1.41 ±1.85 | 1.73 ±1.84 |
Note. Data are drawn from the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and include ever-married women that responded to the additional Domestic Violence special module (administered to 1 randomly selected woman in each household when privacy was assured) and did not have missing data on any of the variables. Spousal violence includes physical and sexual violence perpetrated by a husband or former husband (excludes emotional violence). The sample size was n = 18 798.
Number and percentage of women with the descriptive characteristic out of the total sample.
Number and percentage of women with the characteristic who reported spousal sexual and physical violence since age 15 years.
Attitudes toward violence—this variable was created based on 5 questions on whether it is justified for a husband to beat his wife. The first 2 rows are based on a dichotomous classification (if responded no to all 5 questions—do not accept violence) and the last as a continuous score from 0 to 5.