Citation

Takyi BK, Lamptey E. J. Interpers. Violence 2016; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

The University of Akron, OH, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260516676476

PMID

27864519

Abstract

Research shows that intimate partner violence is quite widespread throughout the world. In the case of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), studies have concluded that cultural and economic factors help to sustain the spread and maintenance of intimate partner violence in the region. Although the cultural interpretations predominate in current research, few have examined the links between religion, an important cultural variable, and intimate partner violence in SSA. Given the growth and importance of religion in African cultures, we used data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey (n = 1,831) and ordinary least squares regression method to investigate the links between religious affiliation and intimate partner violence.

FINDINGS from our study point to some variations in intimate partner violence by affiliation. This is especially true with regard to women's experience with sexual violence and emotional violence. Besides religion, we also found ideologies that support wife abuse, the nature of decision-making process at the household level, and husband's use of alcohol to be important determinants of intimate partner violence in Ghana. We examined the implications of these findings.

© The Author(s) 2016.

Language: en