ArticleSSM - population health2021
Polygyny and intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from 16 cross-sectional demographic and health surveys.
Article in SSM - population health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations between Demographic Factors and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization: A Meta-analysis.Psychosocial intervention · 2025Pooled it
- Association between concurrence of risk factors and intimate partner violence against women: evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys in 53 low- and middle-income countries.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Generalized structural equation modeling of intimate partner violence among married women in East Africa using population-based data.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Multilevel analysis of the twelve-month prevalence of intimate partner violence among ever-partnered reproductive-age women in Sub-Saharan Africa: recent DHS data (2019-2024).Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Structural determinants of intimate partner violence in Afghanistan: unequal risks for women in polygamous and monogamous unions.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Individual- and community-level factors associated with intimate partner controlling behavior among women in Somaliland: a multilevel analysis of the 2020 Somaliland demographic and health survey.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- New multidimensional scale of men's gender egalitarian attitudes and its socio-demographic correlates in Nigeria: results from a psychometric analysis.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Psychological outcomes and quality of life among first married women in polygynous families in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A mixed-approach study, 2021.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Article
- Sub-national analysis of intimate partner violence and termination of pregnancy among ever-in-union women in South Africa.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A socio-ecological analysis of intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age in Nigeria: a multilevel analysis of data from 2008 to 2018 Nigeria demographic and health surveys.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The burden and determinants of intimate partner violence against reproductive-age women in four East African countries: evidence from 2021/2023 DHS dataset.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- High rates of polygyny do not lock large proportions of men out of the marriage market.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Dual intimate partner violence among women in sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Zambia and Zimbabwe.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Prevalence, types, and determinants of intimate-partner violence among pregnant women in Northern Uganda: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Spatial variation of intimate partner violence and its public health implication: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Experience of controlling behaviour and intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Measuring the effects of community polygyny on intimate partner violence: a multilevel modeling using nationally representative cross-sectional data.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with intimate partner violence among women in Tanzania: evidence from Tanzanian demographic and health survey 2022.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Association between polygyny and justification of violence among women in sexual unions in sub-Saharan Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa, where intimate partner violence has been found to be predominant, several scholars have made efforts to understand its predictors. Socio-culturally, polygyny has been considered as a key determinant of intimate partner violence. This study aimed to examine the association between polygyny and intimate partner violence in 16 sub-Saharan African countries. Binary logistic regression models were used in testing the association and the results were presented as crude and adjusted odds ratios at 95% confidence interval. The proportion of women in polygamous marriages in the 16 countries was 20.2%, ranging from as high as 40% in Chad to as low as 1.6% in South Africa. The prevalence of IPV was 30.7% in the 16 countries, ranging from as high as 44% in Uganda to as low as 12.7% in South Africa. The odds of IPV were higher among women in polygamous marriages in Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe but was lower among women in polygamous marriages in Cameroon [COR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.44-0.66] and Nigeria [COR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.55-0.67], and this persisted after controlling for level of education, place of residence, wealth quintile, media exposure, and justification of violence. This study has found a significant association between polygyny and intimate partner violence. The practice of intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa is fused into the socio-cultural norms and religious traditions of most countries in the sub-Saharan African region. The findings imply that family structures expose women to intimate partner violence. Therefore, global efforts in dealing with intimate partner violence through the Sustainable Development Goals should be done with attention on the socio-cultural norms and traditions around marriage and family structures.
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