EFFECTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE ON THE MENTAL HEALTH AMONG UNIVERSITYSTUDENTS IN WESTERN KENYA
Keywords:
Intimate partner violence, mental health outcomes, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Abstract
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) comprises physical, sexual, and psychological abuse during marriage, cohabitation, or other kinds of relationships. Despite several studies linking IPV to mental health, the findings among college students have produced conflicting results; some studies have linked IPV to mental health issues, while others have
found no relationship. Hence, this study assessed the most prevalent form of IPV and its effects on mental health among university students in Western Kenya.
Methodology: This study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive study design in the universities in Western Kenya. Sample size was calculated using Solvin’s formula, where snowball sampling was used to identify 426 undergraduates who had ever experienced any form of IPV since enrolment. Data was collected by use of self-administered semistructured
questionnaire that consisted of validated screening tools - Patient Health
Questionnaire (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) screening tool and Primary Care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Test for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) to measure the mental health outcomes. Data was analysed using statistical analysis software, descriptive data was presented in tables and figures, while a Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) test analysed the effect of the various forms of IPV on mental health.
Results: Majority of participants reported to have experienced psychological violence (47%, 199), while physical and sexual violence were at 40% (170) and 13% (57), respectively. On mental health outcomes, this study found that Physical form of IPV had a statistically significant multivariate effect on mental health outcomes (Λ = 0.974, F(3, df) = 3.72, p = 0.012), with univariate tests indicating a significant effect on anxiety (F = 7.00, p = 0.008). While psychological form of IPV also showed a significant multivariate effect (Λ = 0.977, F(3, df) = 3.23, p = 0.022), with significant univariate effects on depression (F = 6.17, p = 0.013) and anxiety (F = 5.57, p = 0.019). Sexual IPV did not show a statistically significant multivariate effect (Λ = 0.994, F(3, df) = 0.83, p = 0.475) with any negative mental health outcomes.
Conclusion: There was a noticeable effect of physical and psychological forms of IPV on depression and anxiety; however, sexual violence was not associated with any mental health disorders.
