Peer-reviewed article

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.

Armah-Ansah EK, Adejumo SA, Ezekobe EE, Jalili A, Ahmed S et al. · 17 Nov 2025

Summary

Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

This study analyzed data from Nigeria's Demographic and Health Surveys between 2008 and 2018 to examine intimate partner violence (IPV) among women of reproductive age. About 26% of women experienced some form of IPV, with emotional violence being most common at 22%. The prevalence increased significantly by 2018 to 33%. Risk factors included lower education, cohabitation, employment, having multiple children, and living in the Northeast region or polygamous families.

Key points

Overall IPV prevalence was 25.94% across 2008-2018, rising to 33.24% in 2018, showing an upward trend
Emotional violence affected 21.82% of women, physical violence 11.35%, and sexual violence 3.53%
Women with primary education, those cohabiting, and employed women had higher IPV risk
Having four or more children approximately doubled the risk of IPV (aOR = 2.08)
Regional and ethnic factors mattered: women in the Northeast and those identifying as Hausa had higher IPV risk

Limitations

This is a secondary data analysis based on self-reported survey data, which may underestimate IPV prevalence due to social desirability bias and stigma. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation, only associations between factors and IPV.

Abstract

Introduction Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health and human rights issue in Africa. Despite numerous initiatives and legislative measures, IPV continues to be deeply rooted in sociocultural norms, affecting both social and economic progress in Nigeria. Hence, this study utilizes the socio-ecological model to analyze trends and factors associated with IPV among women of reproductive age in Nigeria from 2008 to 2018. Methods The study was an analytical cross-sectional study that utilized secondary datasets from the 2008, 2013, and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys. A weighted sample of 47,015 women of reproductive age was included in this study. The analysis was conducted using Stata. Multilevel regression analysis was applied, and the results were presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR), along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-values to indicate the statistical significance of the findings. Results The overall prevalence of IPV in Nigeria from 2008 to 2018 was 25.94% [95% CI: 25.11%-26.80%]. The average prevalence of emotional violence was 21.82% [95% CI: 21.03%-22.63%], whereas that of physical violence was 11.35% [95% CI: 10.86-11.85%], and sexual violence was 3.53% [95% CI: 3.29%-3.80%]. Significant risk factors associated with IPV included primary education [aOR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.08-1.26], cohabiting [1.40; 95% CI = 1.23-1.59]; working [aOR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.23-1.59], having four or more births [aOR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.87-2.32], exposed to mass media [aOR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.10-1.23], belonged to Hausa ethnic group [aOR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.43-1.89], women whose partners had primary education [aOR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.12-1.31], those in a polygamous family type [aOR = 1.31; 95% CI = 1.24-1.39], those who lived in North East [aOR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.25-1.50], those who lived communities with high literacy level [aOR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.04-1.32] and those who were in 2018 survey year [aOR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.37-1.57]. Conclusion The research indicates that intimate partner violence continues to be a significant public health concern in Nigeria, with approximately 25.94% of women of reproductive age experiencing IPV from 2008 to 2018, reaching a peak of 33.24% in 2018, which signals a troubling upward trend. The most common type of violence reported was emotional abuse, impacting nearly 22% of women. Major risk factors identified include lower educational attainment for both women and their partners, cohabitation, employment status, higher numbers of children, access to mass media, identification as Hausa, involvement in polygamous family arrangements, residing in the Northeast region, and living in areas with higher literacy rates. These findings highlight the multi-faceted factors contributing to IPV. To effectively address this issue, it is necessary to implement targeted, multi-faceted strategies that focus on educational inequities, economic conditions, cultural practices, and regional disparities, with a strong focus on prevention to halt the rising trend of violence.