Water insecurity is associated with intimate partner violence among female adolescents and youth but not males in rural Tanzania: A cross-sectional study

Food insecurity increases intimate partner violence (IPV), but less is known about water insecurity (WI) and IPV. We examined the association between household WI and IPV among adolescents and youth in the Mbeya and Iringa regions of Tanzania. The cross-sectional sample comprised 977 males and femal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global public health 2024-12, Vol.19 (1), p.2409369
Main Authors: Kisliuk, Nelli, LaPointe, Sarah, Young, Sera L., Prencipe, Leah, Luchemba, Paul, Lukongo, Tumpe Mnyawami, Palermo, Tia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent girls
Adolescents
Africa
Cross-Sectional Studies
Domestic violence
Female
Females
Food security
Households
Humans
Insecurity
Intimate Partner Violence
Male
Males
Marriage
Regression analysis
Rural Population
Sex Factors
Tactics
Tanzania
Violence
Water
Water Insecurity
Water supply
Young Adult
Youth
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Food insecurity increases intimate partner violence (IPV), but less is known about water insecurity (WI) and IPV. We examined the association between household WI and IPV among adolescents and youth in the Mbeya and Iringa regions of Tanzania. The cross-sectional sample comprised 977 males and females aged 18-23 years living in rural, impoverished households. We conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses to estimate the association between experiences of WI [measured by the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE-4) Scale] and physical and/or emotional IPV (measured by an adapted Conflict Tactics Scale). Overall, WI (HWISE ≥4) was associated with 74% higher odds of any IPV (marginal effects (ME) of 7.8 percentage points (pp)), compared to those not WI. Among females (but not males), WI was associated with 3-fold higher odds of any IPV (OR =  3 .00; 95% CI: [1.52, 5.94]; ME  = 14 pp). Compared to non-WI females, WI females had 5- and 2-fold higher odds of IPV (ME = 30.8 and 11.3 pp) among the ever married and never married sub-samples, respectively. The association between WI and IPV among females was attenuated (OR =  1 .93; 95% CI: [0.93, 3.97]) when adjusting for household food insecurity. Ameliorating water insecurity is a promising avenue for IPV reduction.
ISSN:1744-1692
1744-1706
1744-1706
DOI:10.1080/17441692.2024.2409369