Prevalence and determinants of emotional violence faced by married women in Delhi, India: A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: Emotional violence is the lesser recognized form of intimate partner violence (IPV) but causes long-lasting harm to a woman’s mental and physical wellbeing. AIMS: To estimate the prevalence and describe the determinants of emotional violence faced by women residing in a metropolitan city of India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted among ‘presently married’ women living in an urban residential area of Delhi. METHODS AND MATERIAL: We used the NFHS-3 questionnaire and criteria to record the study participants’ responses regarding their experience of ‘emotional violence’. Women saying yes to emotional violence further quantified the frequency of each type of abuse into ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ in the past 12 months. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and the Institutional Ethics Committee approved the study. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Logistic regression analysis was used to determine emotional violence with various socio-demographic factors and other forms of IPV. RESULTS: A total of 99 (19.8%) women had ‘ever’ faced psychological abuse by their husbands. 15.2% of women were humiliated by husbands, and 11.6% of women were insulted and made to feel bad about themselves. Women whose husbands consume alcohol (OR = 1.74 (1.07–2.84), exhibit controlling behaviour, (OR = 2.79 (1.74–4.46) exhibit physical (OR = 10.83 (6.4–18.32) or sexual (OR = 5.53 (3–10.2) violence were at significantly higher risk of facing psychological abuse within their marriages. CONCLUSIONS: Physical violence and controlling were found to be significantly associated with the experience of emotional violence after adjusting for all other variables. Primary care physicians should be sensitized to this critical health issue.