RT Article
T1 Association Between Domestic Violence and Mental Health Among Nepalese Women: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 40
IS 13/14
SP 3210
OP 3230
A1 Gnawali, Shreejana
A1 Atteraya, Madhu Sudhan
A1 Kim, Eungi
A2 Atteraya, Madhu Sudhan
A2 Kim, Eungi
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1928052681
AB This study aims to examine the association between exposure to domestic violence and mental health outcomes, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety among married women in Nepal. The 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey was used. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed. A complex sampling frame was used to ensure the accuracy of the sample. A total of 4,211 women aged 15 to 49 years were analyzed. Among women between the ages of 15 and 49, 22.8% experience anxiety, and 22.5% experience depressive symptoms. Nearly 50% of women who had experienced domestic violence had symptoms of anxiety and depression. At the multivariate level, in Model 1, the study found that wealthy women were less likely to have anxiety (OR = 0.75; 95% CI [0.58, 0.96] and depression (OR = 0.70; 95% CI [0.54, 0.91]) than poor women. Similarly, women of the former untouchable caste were more likely to have anxiety (OR = 1.51; 95% CI [1.14, 2.00]) and depression (OR = 1.20; 95% CI [0.91, 1.58]) than high-caste women. In Model 2, the odds of anxiety and depressive symptoms were 1.70 (95% CI [1.29, 2.24]) and 1.99 (95% CI [1.48, 2.67]), respectively, for those women who had experienced severe physical violence. The odds of experiencing anxiety and depression were 2.88 (95% CI [2.28, 3.64]) and 3.04 (95% CI [2.32, 3.98]) times, respectively, for those women who had experienced emotional abuse. Similarly, women who had been sexually assaulted had 2.34 (95% CI [1.72, 3.20]) and 1.67 times (95% CI [1.23, 2.26]) more likely to experience anxiety and depression than women who had never been sexually assaulted. We found a strong association between mental health problems and women's experience of domestic violence. To address the mental health of Nepalese women, it is critical to strengthen domestic violence prevention programs, especially those targeting the lowest social strata of the population.
K1 Nepal
K1 Women
K1 Mental Health
K1 Domestic Violence
DO 10.1177/08862605241271333