Determinants of Emotional Intimate Partner Violence against Women and Girls with Children in Mexican Households: An Ecological Framework

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the risk factors for emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and girls with children in Mexico from an ecological perspective. To that end, we generate a dataset with 35,004 observations and 42 covariates, to which we apply an additive probit model estimated with a boosting algorithm to overcome high-dimensionality and simultaneously perform variable selection and model choice. The dataset integrates 10 information sources, allowing us to properly characterize the four levels of the ecological approach, which is the first contribution of this paper. In addition, there are three key contributions. First, we identify a number of factors significantly linked to emotional IPV against women with children: age, age at sexual initiation, age at marriage (or cohabitation), autonomy regarding professional issues, social support networks, division of housework, the community’s Gini index, women’s economic participation in the municipality, and the prevalence of crime against males in the region. Second, we discuss some risk factors whose effects have not been examined or have been underexplored for Mexico; these include women’s decision-making autonomy, social support networks, distribution of housework, the community’s economic inequality, and criminality. Third, we identify specific risk subgroups that are generally overlooked: women who had their first sexual intercourse during childhood and women who got married (or moved in together with a partner) late in life. The main results suggest that strategies aiming to promote women’s social and economic empowerment and reduce criminality should also incorporate a gender component regarding emotional violence against women with children in the context of intimate relationships.

Female income generation and intimate partner violence: Evidence from a representative survey in Turkey

“…On the other hand, studying the effects of a cash transfer programme in Brazil, Litwin et al (2019) do not find any significant improvement in women's likelihood of IPV victimisation; Similarly, Green et al (2015) observe no change in IPV likelihoods in response to a poverty reduction programme designed to economically empower Ugandan women; Jewkes et al (2002) find female employment to be uncorrelated with IPV victimisation in South Africa; Raj et al (2018) report a similar lack of association in rural India. There is evidence of serious negative effects as well: Vyas et al (2015) find higher risks of IPV victimisation among income‐earning women in Tasmania; Abramsky et al (2019) report similar findings for women who contribute more to their household budget than their partners; Erten and Keskin (2021) show how in the Turkish case a reduction in employment opportunities for women leads to a decline in IPV by dampening the incentives of men to employ violence for rent extraction; In a recent study on employment and IPV among Mexican women, Torres Munguía and Martínez‐Zarzoso (2022) find evidence that a greater degree of job market access for women could be generating IPV risks.…”

How does empowering men affect intimate partner violence? Evidence from Bangladesh

“…Studies highlight sociodemographic factors like women's education ( Ahinkorah et al, 2018 ; Oluwagbemiga et al, 2023 ; Rahman et al, 2020a ), women's age at marriage ( Murshid, 2017 ; Terrazas-Carrillo & McWhirter, 2015 ; Tsegaw et al, 2022 ), and exposure to violence during childhood ( Abramsky et al, 2011 ; Murshid & Murshid, 2018 ). Studies also highlight contextual factors like patriarchal norms ( Heise & Kotsadam, 2016 ; Murshid & Critelli, 2020 ), religious fractionalization ( Kaya & Cook, 2010 ), and community inequality ( Munguia & Martinez-Zarzoso, 2022 ).…”

Verbal and psychological violence against women in Turkey and its determinants

“…The level of education of women or their partners subjected to violence is one of these factors [ 31 , 32 ]. Verbal and psychological violence is also associated with the ages of women and their partners [ 32 , 50 ]. The financial condition of women or their families is another component of verbal and psychological violence [ 26 , 51 ].…”