Intimate Partner Violence and its Mental Health Implications Amid COVID-19 Lockdown: Findings Among Nigerian Couples

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.

The International Sexual Health And REproductive Health during COVID-19 (I-SHARE) Study: A Multicountry Analysis of Adults from 30 Countries Prior to and During the Initial Coronavirus Disease 2019 Wave

“…Some studies suggest increased intimate partner violence during COVID-19 measures, 21,22 while others found decreases. 23 Other research has shown that IPV may increase after a natural disaster, 24 indicating a need for follow up studies to see if IPV worsened as the COVID-19 pandemic continued beyond the initial wave that we examined in this study.…”

Changes in Prevalence and Severity of Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

“…Further studies in this review were conducted in Austria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Tunisia. Ten studies included only females ( 37 , 41 – 43 , 46 – 49 , 51 , 54 ), 10 further studies included both female and male participants ( 13 , 39 , 44 , 45 , 50 , 52 , 53 , 55 – 57 ), and two studies assessed DV in males only ( 38 , 40 ). Without exception, all studies reported on DV against adults, with only one study further reporting on violence against children ( 55 ).…”

“…The majority of the n = 19 cross-sectional studies assessed different types of DV. To this end, 12 studies reported on changes in psychological/emotional or verbal DV ( 13 , 37 – 40 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 53 ), 11 on sexual DV ( 13 , 37 – 39 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 53 ), 12 reported on physical DV ( 13 , 37 – 39 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 48 – 50 , 52 , 53 ), and 4 included economic/financial DV ( 39 , 49 , 50 , 53 ). One study did not provide a differentiation of DV type ( 54 ).…”

“…Most cross-sectional studies investigated DV in the general population ( n = 14) ( 13 , 39 , 41 – 43 , 45 , 47 – 54 ), while some studies focused on specific samples ( n = 5) ( 37 , 38 , 40 , 44 , 46 ). Assessment of DV was heterogeneous regarding the methodological approach—five studies used validated questionnaires [i.e., (Extended-) Hurt, Insult, Threaten, Scream Scale [(E-)HITS]; Composite Abuse Scale Revised Short Form (CASR-SF); Domestic Violence Questionnaire (DVQ); Gay and Bisexual Men Intimate Partner Violence scale (IPV-GBM)] ( 38 , 40 , 44 , 45 , 54 ), nine studies relied on self-generated questions ( 13 , 39 , 41 – 43 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 53 ), five studies used scales from the “ WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women ” ( 37 , 47 ), the “ World Health Organization's Domestic Violence Questionnaire Screening Tool” ( 46 ), or DV self-generated questionnaires based on questionnaires developed by the WHO ( 48 , 51 ). Further, the majority utilized online surveys ( n = 14) ( 13 , 38 – 43 , 45 – 47 , 49 – 51 , 53 ), whereas some studies conducted in-person ( n = 2) ( 37 , 54 ) or telephone interviews ( n = 3) ( 44 , 48 , 52 ).…”

Psychological Distress, Anxiety, Family Violence, Suicidality, and Wellbeing in Pakistan During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Women of Pakistan are facing domestic violence increasingly when compared to other countries; family violence in New Zealand was reported to be 4 times lesser (9%) ( Every-Palmer et al, 2020 ) while that in Nigeria was also 3–4 times less (7.5–13.5%) ( Ojeahere et al, 2021 ). The disparity in the cases of family violence reported in Pakistan and elsewhere is possibly due to the prevailing socio-cultural norms in Pakistan.…”