Health status among women and men in Canada who reported experiences of non-physical intimate partner violence, Canada.

INTRODUCTION

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is recognized as a public health problem that has profound negative consequences for physical and mental health and well-being. Previous research has focused primarily on physical and sexual IPV; non-physical IPV has been understudied, particularly among men.

METHODS

Using data from Statistic Canada's 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, we examined associations between non-physical IPV and nine heath status variables: fair/poor mental health, fair/poor general health, dissatisfaction with life, pain, use of medication, suicidal thoughts, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, and PTSD.

RESULTS

Women (13.3 %) and men (12.6 %) were equally likely to report non-physical IPV in the past year, often without co-occurring physical/sexual IPV. Bivariate analyses revealed that non-physical IPV increased the risk of reporting all negative health status variables except pain. When associations were examined in relation to the frequency of non-physical IPV, a gradient was observed. In multivariable analyses that controlled for potential confounders, most associations observed in the bivariate analyses persisted, but associations were somewhat attenuated when controlling for co-occurring physical/sexual IPV.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-physical IPV, particularly if it happens frequently, is strongly associated with negative health, often independent of co-occurring physical/sexual IPV. Longitudinal studies have found that non-physical IPV is a predictor of subsequent physical/sexual IPV, further increasing the risk of negative health. This underscores the importance of specifically addressing non-physical IPV through public health prevention programs and the need for it to be recognized as a form of IPV that is as important as physical and sexual IPV.