Spouse Abuse in Sari-Iran

Shahrbanoo Ghahhar; Shahzad Mazdarani; Alireza Khalilian; Mehran Zarghami

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

IJPBS is the Official Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Current Issue All Issues In Press Accepted Manuscripts Search

Journal Information Editors & Boards Indexing and Listing Sources Journal Metrics Open Peer Review (OPR)Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement Reviewer and AE Registration Form Contact Us Support

APC

Authors Guide Submit Manuscript

Spouse Abuse in Sari-Iran

Author(s):

Shahrbanoo Ghahhar¹,

Shahzad Mazdarani²,

Alireza Khalilian³,

Mehran Zarghami^4,*

1Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, and Department of Psychiatry, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Sari, Iran

2Fatemeh Zahra Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Sari, Iran

3Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, and Department of Biostatistics, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Sari, Iran

4Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, and Department of Psychiatry, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Sari, Iran

IJ Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences:Vol. 2, issue 1; 31-5

Published online:Jan 31, 2008

Article type:Research Article

Received:Dec 10, 2007

Accepted:Jan 01, 2008

How to Cite:Shahrbanoo GhahharShahzad MazdaraniAlireza KhalilianMehran ZarghamiSpouse Abuse in Sari-Iran.Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci.2(1):31-5.

Abstract

Objective: Spouse abuse is a major worldwide health concern and includes a wide range of emotional, physical and sexual maltreatments. The objective of present study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of spouse abuse among women who were registered with health centers in the city of Sari

Methods: We distributed two specifically designed questionnaires among one thousand women whose name was in the list of health centers register in Sari. The subjects had been randomly selected from a list of 49330 registered women. Demographic data and data on spouse abuse were then analyzed by using Student’s unpaired t-test and Chi- square test.

Results: Including mild forms of abuse, 73.5%, 92.2% and 49.6% of women reported that they were subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse respectively at least once during their lives. This figure was 3%, 10.4% and 5.8% for moderate forms, and 0.5%, 1% and 2.2% for severe forms of abuse. Younger age, unemployment, low level of education, substance misuse, presence of a physical or a psychological problem and having more children were risk factors for domestic violence.

Conclusion: The study revealed a high prevalence, especially mild forms of domestic maltreatment in the sample population. The type and risk factors of domestic violence seems to be similar throughout the world irrespective of differences in cultural and religious backgrounds. Authors believe that addressing unemployment, substance misuse problems and early treatment of mental illness in young couples in Iran will reduce the risk of domestic violence.

Keywords

Iran

Sari

Spouse Abuse

Fulltext

Full text is available in the PDF.

References

1.
References are available in the PDF.

comments