A socio-ecological analysis of intimate partner violence among women of
reproductive age in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis of data from 2008 to 2018
Nigeria demographic and health surveys
#MMPMID41250055
Armah-Ansah EK
; Adejumo SA
; Ezekobe EE
; Jalili A
; Ahmed S
; Oko-Oboh E
; Budu E
; Oga-Omenka C
BMC Public Health
2025[Nov]; 25
(1
): 3971
PMID41250055
show ga
INTRODUCTION: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health and
human rights issue in Africa. Despite numerous initiatives and legislative
measures, IPV continues to be deeply rooted in sociocultural norms, affecting
both social and economic progress in Nigeria. Hence, this study utilizes the
socio-ecological model to analyze trends and factors associated with IPV among
women of reproductive age in Nigeria from 2008 to 2018. METHODS: The study was an
analytical cross-sectional study that utilized secondary datasets from the 2008,
2013, and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys. A weighted sample of
47,015 women of reproductive age was included in this study. The analysis was
conducted using Stata. Multilevel regression analysis was applied, and the
results were presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR), along with 95% confidence
intervals (CIs) and p-values to indicate the statistical significance of the
findings. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of IPV in Nigeria from 2008 to 2018 was
25.94% [95% CI: 25.11%-26.80%]. The average prevalence of emotional violence was
21.82% [95% CI: 21.03%-22.63%], whereas that of physical violence was 11.35% [95%
CI: 10.86-11.85%], and sexual violence was 3.53% [95% CI: 3.29%-3.80%].
Significant risk factors associated with IPV included primary education
[aOR?=?1.17; 95% CI?=?1.08-1.26], cohabiting [1.40; 95% CI?=?1.23-1.59]; working
[aOR?=?1.30; 95% CI?=?1.23-1.59], having four or more births [aOR?=?2.08; 95%
CI?=?1.87-2.32], exposed to mass media [aOR?=?1.17; 95% CI?=?1.10-1.23], belonged
to Hausa ethnic group [aOR?=?1.65; 95% CI?=?1.43-1.89], women whose partners had
primary education [aOR?=?1.21; 95% CI?=?1.12-1.31], those in a polygamous family
type [aOR?=?1.31; 95% CI?=?1.24-1.39], those who lived in North East [aOR?=?1.37;
95% CI?=?1.25-1.50], those who lived communities with high literacy level
[aOR?=?1.17; 95% CI?=?1.04-1.32] and those who were in 2018 survey year
[aOR?=?1.47; 95% CI?=?1.37-1.57]. CONCLUSION: The research indicates that
intimate partner violence continues to be a significant public health concern in
Nigeria, with approximately 25.94% of women of reproductive age experiencing IPV
from 2008 to 2018, reaching a peak of 33.24% in 2018, which signals a troubling
upward trend. The most common type of violence reported was emotional abuse,
impacting nearly 22% of women. Major risk factors identified include lower
educational attainment for both women and their partners, cohabitation,
employment status, higher numbers of children, access to mass media,
identification as Hausa, involvement in polygamous family arrangements, residing
in the Northeast region, and living in areas with higher literacy rates. These
findings highlight the multi-faceted factors contributing to IPV. To effectively
address this issue, it is necessary to implement targeted, multi-faceted
strategies that focus on educational inequities, economic conditions, cultural
practices, and regional disparities, with a strong focus on prevention to halt
the rising trend of violence.
|*Intimate Partner Violence/statistics & numerical data
[MESH]
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