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Prevalence and Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in a Nationally Representative Sample in Lithuania

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Abstract

This representative study examines the prevalence of psychological, economic, physical, or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), the main patterns of IPV exposure, and the interconnections between IPV and socio-demographic characteristics. The participants of the current cross-sectional study were 1173 women from a nationally representative survey. The data were collected using in-person interviews. The reported lifetime prevalence of any IPV (physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse) in Lithuania is 51.2%. For women who experienced abuse, the lifetime prevalence of psychological, economic, physical, and sexual IPV is 50.1%, 29.9%, 21.5%, and 16.9%, respectively. Of those victims, 57.1% had experienced IPV in the past year. Younger women (≤ 60 years), being separated or divorced, being economically disadvantaged, living in rural areas, and those who had experienced violence in their childhood are more likely to have experienced IPV during the past 12 months. Five different patterns of exposure to violence were identified: nearly absent IPV, psychological-only IPV, psychological/physical IPV, high sexual IPV, and high overall IPV. Comparison of the women belonging to different clusters differed from each other on the type of partner relationship, household income, area of residency, and childhood violence exposure. Findings of this study make a unique contribution to the existing literature by identifying multiple risk factors associated with various types and patterns of IPV that to date, had not yet been comprehensively analyzed in the IPV literature. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant from the Lithuanian Research Council, [P-MIP-17-132].

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  1. Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities str. 20, 08303, Vilnius, LT, Lithuania

    Rita Žukauskienė, Goda Kaniušonytė, Aistė Bakaitytė & Inga Truskauskaitė - Kunevičienė

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  1. Rita Žukauskienė
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Žukauskienė, R., Kaniušonytė, G., Bakaitytė, A. et al. Prevalence and Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in a Nationally Representative Sample in Lithuania. J Fam Viol 36, 117–130 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00126-3

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