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Effect of Enabling Resources and Risk Factors on the Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Anxiety in Ever-Married Women in Minya, Egypt

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Abstract

The effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on mental health remains understudied in the Arab world. Using data from 608 ever-married women in rural Minya, Egypt who took part in the 2005 Egypt Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) and a 2012 follow-up survey, we assessed how a woman’s enabling resources and risk factors influenced the association of her exposure to IPV with her generalized anxiety. Results from multivariate regression models showed that proximity to natal kin, prior schooling, and engagement in market work 12 months before marriage had protective effects on generalized anxiety associated with IPV. Childhood abuse from mother also had a protective effect on this relationship. Similar abuse from the brother exacerbated the effects of anxiety when a woman was exposed to IPV. Empowerment programs can encourage women to attend school and engage in market or subsistence work, while suggesting strategies to improve the relationship of women with natal kin.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grants from the World Bank’s Gender and Economic Research and Policy Action (GERPA) Program and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (PI K M Yount) as well as the Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. We thank Dr. Ray Langsten and Dr. Rania Roushdy for their outstanding management of the field activities; Ms. Tahra Hassan, Ms. Eman Shady, and Ms. Katherine Krause for their research assistance; Mr. Ali Rashed for his assistance with data entry and management; Ms. Amal Refaat, for her supervision of the fieldwork; Dr. Ragui Assaad for his advice on study design; and Ms. Carol McMurtray for her assistance with research administration. We wish to thank Dr. Rania Salem for her comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Finally, we express our heartfelt gratitude for the time and dedication of the office and field staff in Egypt and of the women who participated in this study, who made this project possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Annum K. Shaikh & Bradley Pearce

  2. Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Annum K. Shaikh & Kathryn M. Yount

  3. Department of Sociology, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Kathryn M. Yount

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  1. Annum K. Shaikh
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  2. Bradley Pearce
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  3. Kathryn M. Yount
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Correspondence to Annum K. Shaikh.

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The co-authors have no competing interests.

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Shaikh, A.K., Pearce, B. & Yount, K.M. Effect of Enabling Resources and Risk Factors on the Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Anxiety in Ever-Married Women in Minya, Egypt. J Fam Viol 32, 13–23 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9848-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9848-5

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