Social Support, Quality of Life and Intimate Partner Violence as Perceived by Women: A comparative Cross-sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 psychiatric and mental health nursing, Benha university, Egypt

2 Assistant professor of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Benha University, Egypt

3 Assistant professor of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Benha University, Egypt

4 Assistant professor of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University, Egypt

5 Lecturer of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Benha University, Egypt

6 Communirt Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) primarily affects women, harming their quality of life. Strong social support reduces the likelihood and impact of IPV. The aim the study to investigate the relationship between social support, quality of life, and intimate partner violence as perceived by women. Subjects and methods: this study used a comparative cross-sectional design. Researchers gathered data by utilizing tools such as a self-administering interviewing questionnaire. Subject: A sample of 367 married women were chosen by simple random sample from the Maternal and Child Health Center at Benha City. The research results illustrate that over two-thirds of the participants in both the abused seeking help and abused not seeking help groups reported being significantly affected by violence.  Alarmingly, 85.10% of women in the “abused, not seeking help” group indicated a low quality of life.  Conversely, more than half of those who sought assistance reported having a significant other, alongside a robust network of family and friends for emotional support. In conclusion, these results underscore the critical interplay between abuse, social support, and life quality. The negative associations found between experiences of abuse and both life quality and social support highlight the profound detrimental effects of IPV on women’s well-being. Based on these findings, we recommend implementation of awareness-raising initiatives to educate communities about the transformative power of strong social support in enhancing the quality of life for women facing violence.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Abdel-Salam, D., ALruwaili, B., Osman, D., Alazmi, M., ALghayyadh, S., Al-Sharari, R., & Mohamed, R. (2022). Prevalence and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence among Women Attending Different Primary Health Centers in Aljouf Region, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 598. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010598
Abouelenin M. (2022). Gender, Resources, and Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Egypt Before and After the Arab Spring. Violence Against Women Volume 28, Issue 2, February 2022, Pages 347-374. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801221992877
Alsaker, K., Moen, B., Morken, T., & Baste, V. (2018). Intimate partner violence associated with low quality of life - a cross-sectional study. BMC Women S Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0638-5
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: continuing the national story 2019: in brief. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-australia-2019/contents/summary
Bavik, Y. L., Shaw, J. D., & Wang, X. H. (2020). Social Support: Multidisciplinary Review, Synthesis, and Future Agenda. Academy of Management Annals, 14(2), 726–758. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0148
Beckwith, S., Lowe, L., Wall, E., Stevens, E., Carson, R., Kaspiew, R., MacDonald, J. B., McEwen, J., Willoughby, M., & Gahan, L. (2023). Coercive control literature review: Final report. Australian Institute of Family Studies. ISBN: 978-1-76016-276-4 
Canty-Mitchell, J. & Zimet, G.D. (2000). Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support in urban adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 391-400.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Intimate Partner Violence Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/index.html

Christaki, C., Orovou, O., Dagla, D., Sarantaki, S., Moriati, M., Kirkou, K., & Antoniou, A. (2023). Domestic Violence during Women’s Life in Developing Countries. Materia Socio Medica, 35(1), 58. https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2023.35.58-64
Corey, J., Duggan, M., & Travers, Á. (2023). Risk and Protective Factors for Intimate Partner Violence against Bisexual Victims: A Systematic Scoping Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(4), 2130-2142. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221084749
Dabaghi, N., Amini‐Rarani, M., & Nosratabadi, M. (2023). Investigating the relationship between socioeconomic status and domestic violence against women in Isfahan, Iran in 2021: A cross‐sectional study. Health Science Reports, 6(5), e1277. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1277
Demuro, M., Bratzu, E., Lorrai, S., & Preti, A. (2024). Quality of Life in Palliative Care: A Systematic Meta-Review of Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 20 (1). https://doi.org/10.2174/0117450179183857240226094258
Drageset, J. (2021). Social Support. In Springer eBooks (pp. 137–144). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63135-2_11
Dufour, G. K., Gerhardt, E., McArthur, J., & Ternes, M. (2023). Help-seeking behavior and domestic violence. In T. K. Shackelford (Ed.), Encyclopedia of domestic violence (pp. 1-13). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_741-1  
Ghoshal, R., Patil, P., Sinha, I., Gadgil, A., Nathani, P., Jain, N., Ramasubramani, P., & Roy, N. (2024). Factors associated with help-seeking by women facing intimate partner violence in India: findings from National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–2021). BMC Global and Public Health, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-024-00056-3
Green, J., Satyen, L., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2023). Influence of cultural norms on formal service engagement among survivors of intimate partner violence: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(1), 738–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231162971
Greene, C. A., Haisley, L., Wallace, C., & Ford, J. D. (2020). Intergenerational effects of childhood maltreatment: A systematic review of the parenting practices of adult survivors of childhood abuse, neglect, and violence. Clinical Psychology Review, 80, 101891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101891.
Gunarathne, L., Bhowmik, J., Apputhurai, P., & Nedeljkovic, M. (2023). Factors and consequences associated with intimate partner violence against women in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 18(11), e0293295. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293295
Hisasue, T., Kruse, M., Raitanen, J., Paavilainen, E., & Rissanen, P. (2020). Quality of life, psychological distress and violence among women in close relationships: a population-based study in Finland. BMC Women S Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-020-00950-6
Jakobsson, U. (2007). Using the 12-item Short Form health survey (SF-12) to measure quality of life among older people. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 19(6), 457–464. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03324731
Khizer, U., Khurram, F., and  Fahd, s. (2020). Impact of Perceived Social Support and Domestic Violence on Mental Health among Housewives. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies 6(3):1153-1157. DOI:10.26710/jbsee.v6i3.1382 
 Lanchimba, C., Díaz-Sánchez, J. P., & Velasco, F. (2023). Exploring factors influencing domestic violence: A comprehensive study on intrafamily dynamics. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1243558. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1243558

Li, S., Zhao, F., & Yu, G. (2018). Childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization: A meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 88, 212–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.11.012

Maguele, M. S., Taylor, M., & Khuzwayo, N. (2020). Evidence of sociocultural factors influencing intimate partner violence among young women in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 10(12), e040641. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040641
 Mendoza-Huertas, L., Mendoza, N., and Godoy-Izquierdo, D. (2023). Impact of violence against women on quality of life and menopause-related disorders. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2023.107899 
Meyer, S. R., Hardt, S., Brambilla, R., Page, S., & Stockl, H. (2024). Explaining intimate partner violence through economic theories: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 77(4), 101929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2024.101929
Miranda, V., De Oliveira Meller, F., Schäfer, A., Soratto, J., Tomasi, C., De Vargas Nunes Coll, C., & Confortin, S. (2024). Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and quality of life in Southern Brazil: a cross-sectional study, 2022. Epidemiologia E Serviços De Saúde, 33. https://doi.org/10.1590/s2237-96222024v33e2023993.en
Murshid, N. S., & Murshid, N. (2018). Intergenerational Transmission of Marital Violence: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample of Men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(2), 211-227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515604413
Nowshad, G., Jahan, N., Shah, N., Ali, N., Ali, T., Alam, S., Khan, A., Mahmood, M., Saba, M., Arnone, D., & Shah, S. (2022). Intimate-partner violence and its association with symptoms of depression, perceived health, and quality of life in the Himalayan Mountain Villages of Gilgit Baltistan. PLoS ONE, 17(9), e0268735. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268735
Okedare, O.  & Fawole, O. (2024). Perceived social support and the experience of intimate partner violence among married and cohabiting young women in urban slums, Ibadan, Nigeria: a descriptive study. BMJ Public Health, 2(1), e000425. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjph-2023-000425
Richardson, R.,   Haight, S., Hagaman, A., Sikandere, S., Maselko, J., & Batesa, L. (2022). Social support and intimate partner violence in rural Pakistan: A longitudinal investigation of the bi-directional relationship, SSM - Population Health, V.19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101173
Sardinha, L., Maheu-Giroux, M., Stöckl, H., Meyer, S.R. & García-Moreno, C. (2022). Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence against women in 2018, vol 399. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02664-7
Stewart, D. E., MacMillan, H., & Kimber, M. (2020). Recognizing and Responding to Intimate Partner Violence: An Update. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(1), 71–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743720939676
Stubbs, A., & Szoeke, C. (2021). The Effect of Intimate Partner Violence on the Physical Health and Health-Related Behaviors of Women: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 23(4), 1157–1172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020985541
Tavoli Z, Tavoli A, Amirpour R, Hosseini R, Montazeri A (2016). Quality of life in women who were exposed to domestic violence during pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth.16:19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-016-0810-6
 Waller, B. Y., Joyce, P. A., Quinn, C. R., Shaari, A. A. H., & Boyd, D. T. (2023). "I am the one that needs help": The theory of help-seeking behavior for survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221084340.
Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Medical Care, 34(3), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199603000-00003
Ware, J.A., Kosinski, M., Turner-Bowke, D.M. and Gandek, B. (2002). How to score SF-12 items, available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291994160   
WHO (2024). Violence against women [Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women.
Yamane, T. (1967): Statistics an Introductory Analysis. 2nd Ed. New York Harper and Row CO.USA,213.
Yaya, S., Hudani, A., Buh, A., and Bishwajit, G. (2021). Prevalence and Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence among Married Women in Egypt, 36(21-22):10686-10704. doi: 10.1177/0886260519888196
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2