Emotional violence and maternal mental health: a qualitative study among women in northern Vietnam

Abstract

BackgroundWorldwide, intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a pressing and prevalent public health problem. Existing research has found close associations between IPV and perinatal mental health, yet little is known about women’s own perceptions of these associations. This study aimed to explore Vietnamese women’s experiences of emotional partner violence and their perceptions of the implications of such violence for their mental health.MethodsThe data were collected through in-depth interviews with 20 women living in Hanoi, Vietnam who had reported exposure to emotional partner violence and attained high depression scores in a prospective cohort study. Ten women were pregnant and ten had recently given birth. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe women described emotional partner violence as a major life stressor. Their accounts pointed to three particularly significant dimensions of emotional violence: being ignored by the husband; being denied support; and being exposed to controlling behaviours. These experiences affected the women’s sense of wellbeing profoundly, causing sadness and distress. The women’s accounts indicated that experiences of emotional violence were significantly shaped by dominant kinship arrangements: practices of patrilocal residence and principles of patrilineal descent tended to aggravate women’s vulnerabilities to partner violence.ConclusionsThis qualitative study from Vietnam documents close associations between emotional partner violence and perinatal distress, while also pointing to kinship arrangements as particularly significant structural contexts shaping women’s experiences of partner violence. The study findings suggest that effective policies and programs to decrease women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence must take into account the kinship arrangements that prevail in a given society.

Emotional violence exerted by intimate partners and postnatal depressive symptoms among women in Vietnam: A prospective cohort study

“…Other studies report the possibility of changes in risk behavior that may result from violence (such as alcohol intake and smoking), which also aggravate the risk of PPD [ 34 ]. Another explanation for the findings may be that exposure to emotional violence coexists in settings with a high level of dysfunctional family relations, including lack of partner support, which also may result in responses such as psychological problems [ 35 ]. This could be explained by the dynamics of maternity care in the cultural context of Vietnam.…”

“…In northern Vietnam, women who get married will most often leave their natal families and move to live with or nearby their husband’s family (marriages are patrilocal) [ 35 ]. The majority of women in our study had moved into the house of their husband’s family after getting married.…”

A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review: Infidelity, Romantic Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence against Women

“…Evidence from across the world indicated that women who were suspected of infidelity also experienced psychological IPV, including being insulted [88,93,100], threatened [89,92] and ignored [96,102] In some studies, men reported facing pressure from their peers to have sex with many women to affirm their masculinities; men who did not have multiple partners were reportedly described as "controlled by their wives" or "cowards" [84,91]. Hence, women asking their partners to be faithful or accusing them of infidelity constituted a direct threat to their aspired masculinities, which was interpreted to have implications for the IPV that followed.…”

“…A widespread finding was that men often used controlling behaviours to limit woman's autonomy and prevent infidelity. Participants reported that men controlled their partners by destroying their property [84], monitoring and restricting their access to text messages, calls and social media [84,91,96,101], frequently calling them to monitor their movements [91,96,100], isolating them from friends and family [84,92,96,100] and in extreme cases, not allowing them to leave the house [92,96]. As a midwife described:…”

“…Underlying these behaviours-according to participants-were men's fear of losing their partner, a lack of trust in their partner and a perception that women were easily persuaded into infidelity [92,94,96,101]. As a man explained: "As you know women admire a lot and so at work is where she might find someone to admire her and then change her mind into cheating" [94] (p. 5)…”