Associations between Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence, Armed Conflict, and Probable PTSD among Women in Rural Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Background: Objectives were to assess associations between intimate partner violence (IPV), violence during armed conflict (i.e. crisis violence), and probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods: Using a sample of 950 women in rural Côte d’Ivoire, logistic generalized estimating equations assessed associations between IPV and crisis violence exposures with past-week probable PTSD. Results: Over one in 5 (23.4%) women reported past-year IPV, and over one in 4 women (26.5%) reported experiencing IPV prior to the past year (i.e. remote IPV). Crisis violence was experienced by 72.6% of women. In adjusted models including demographics, crisis violence (overall and specific forms), and IPV (remote and past-year), women who reported past-year IPV had 3.1 times the odds of reporting probable past-week PTSD (95%CI: 1.8–5.3) and those who reported remote IPV had 1.6 times the odds (95%CI: 0.9–2.7). Violent exposures during the crisis were not significantly associated with probable PTSD (any crisis violence: aOR: 1.04 (0.7–1.5); displacement: aOR: 0.9 (95%CI: 0.5–1.7); family victimization during crisis: aOR: 1.1 (95%CI: 0.8–1.7); personal victimization during crisis: aOR: 1.7 (95%CI: 0.7–3.7)). Conclusion: Past-year IPV was more strongly associated with past-week probable PTSD than remote IPV and violence directly related to the crisis. IPV must be considered within humanitarian mental health and psychosocial programming.