Comparing Violence against Women with and Without an Addicted Spouse in ‎Kashan, Iran

Background: Although some studies have been conducted on violence against women, but all these studies were conducted in the general population and not the wives of addicts. This study was aimed to compare the violence against women with and without an addicted spouse. Methods: This comparative study was conducted on ۲۰۰ married women in Kashan, Iran. ۱۰۰ cases were females with addicted spouse and ۱۰۰ were women with non-addict husbands. Data collected using Haj-Yahia violence questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests, odds ratio (OR) and Kendall's correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. Findings: The overall mean score of violence was ۶۹.۲۹ ± ۱۴.۸۴ for the women with addicted husbands and ۴۰.۰۲ ± ۹.۲۶ in women with non-addicted spouses (P < ۰.۰۰۱). The mean score of psychological violence was ۳۹.۰۳ ± ۷.۶۰ in women with addicted spouses and ۲۱.۸۶ ± ۶.۱۱ in those with non-addicted husbands (P < ۰.۰۰۱). Furthermore, the mean score of physical violence was ۲۰.۹۸ ± ۶.۵۰ in women with addicted spouses and ۱۲.۲ ± ۲.۵۵ in those with non-addicted husbands (P < ۰.۰۰۱). Moreover, the mean scores of sexual violence were ۴.۵۲ ± ۲.۲۱ and ۳.۲۸ ± ۰.۷۵ in women with and without addicted spouses, respectively (P < ۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: The overall rate of violence was significantly higher among women with addicted spouse and especially if the spouse abused more than one type of substances. Further investigations are suggested on the effects of opium withdrawal or changes in the substance abused on the rate of violence against women.

Keywords:

Violence , Addiction , Women