SPOUSAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN IN ANTENATAL CARE COHORT: MAGNITUDE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN NORTHWEST, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Violence against women is a serious public health problem and human rights abuse. Psychological abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence that has not been noticed by policymakers. The magnitude ranges up to 90% among different populations. Developing countries including Ethiopia are at high risk of psychological abuse of women by their spouses. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to exclusively quantify the magnitude of psychological spousal abuse along with the associated factors in the country. Thus, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and associated factors of spousal psychological abuse against pregnant women. p value < 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model. RESULTS: This study found that 119 (29.1%) of pregnant women have experienced psychological abuse by their spouses during their pregnancy period. Residence (AOR: 2.87, 95%CI: 1.11-7.39), age of partner (AOR: 2.68, 95%CI: 1.25-5.75), unwanted pregnancy (AOR: 3.55, 95%CI: 1.08-11.66), history of abortion (AOR: 2.79, 95%CI: 1.13-6.89), and mother’s age (AOR: 0.24, 95%CI: 0.11-0.50), have emerged as predictors for psychological spousal abuse during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The magnitude of psychological abuse against pregnant women by their spouses was high in this study. Socio-demographic and pregnancy-related factors were important predictors of psychological violence. Consequently, it demands tremendous efforts to mitigate the problem by designing effective and appropriate measures. KEY WORDS: Psychological spousal abuse, pregnant women, Antenatal care, Ethiopia (The Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health; 2020; 12;31-40) 1 Reproductive Health, School of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. 2 Department of Reproductive health, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. 3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. 4 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. METHODS: This study was a facility-based cross-sectional study including 409 pregnant mothers at Debre Markos town from March 17, 2018 – April 28, 2018. The study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. A pretested and validated questionnaire was used. Binary logistic regression was employed. The adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used to declare statistically significant variables based on