Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39809554›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Intimate partner violence help-seeking norms: scale reliability and cross-sectional multilevel associations with intimate partner violence among youth in Nairobi, Kenya.

Anaise Williams, Shannon N Wood, Mary Thiongo, Peter Gichangi, Bianca Devoto, Kristin G Bevilacqua, G Wamue-Ngare, Michele R Decker

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Anaise WilliamsDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4617-9267
Shannon N WoodDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA swood@jhu.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-4389-3526
Mary ThiongoInternational Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya, Mombasa, Kenya.
Peter GichangiTechnical University of Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya.
Bianca DevotoDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Kristin G BevilacquaDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3260-3733
G Wamue-NgareDepartment of Sociology, Gender and Development Studies, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Michele R DeckerDepartment of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Funding

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 010481; 046501
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIntimate partner violence (IPV) threatens women's health and safety. Support services can mitigate the impact, yet few survivors seek services in part due to social norms that discourage use. Little agreement exists on how to measure norms and attitudes related to IPV help-seeking. The objectives were to (1) refine an IPV Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale and examine its psychometric properties, (2) explore differences in attitudes between young men and young women, and (3) examine associations of past 6-month IPV among young women with the scale at the individual level (individual attitudes) and the by-gender community-aggregated averages (community norms) among youth in Nairobi, Kenya.

designThis cross-sectional, secondary analysis used data from a phone-based survey with a cohort of young men and young women recruited via respondent-driven sampling from April to May 2021. Cross-sectional exploratory factor analysis assessed underlying latent constructs. Multilevel mixed-effects models assessed associations with IPV experience for young women. SETTING AND

participantsA youth cohort of 586 men and 591 women aged 15-24 years in Nairobi, Kenya. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Past 6-month physical and/or sexual IPV among young women.

resultsThe IPV Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale had acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha >0.60). IPV prevalence was 17.5%, among whom 21.7% had sought any help for the past 6-month IPV. A one-unit increase in the community aggregate IPV Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale among young women was associated with reduced odds of IPV (aOR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03-0.98). However, the individual-level attitudes scale was not associated with IPV nor was the men's community aggregate scale.

conclusionsThe IPV Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale had adequate psychometric properties. The results suggest that young women living in a community where the norm among women enables IPV response may have a reduced risk of IPV. Community norms change to better enable IPV response among young people may help reduce IPV and increase help-seeking.

Indexed as

Help-Seeking BehaviorIntimate Partner ViolenceSocial NormsAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansKenyaMalePsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAdolescentHealth EquityPUBLIC HEALTH

Identifiers

PMID39809554
PMCPMC11751895

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.