The Role of Polygamous Unions on Experience of Intimate Partner Emotional Violence in Uganda

Nick Thomas, Tulane University

Intimate partner violence has been linked to multiple adverse health outcomes, such as increased injury rates, mental disorders, and STI rates. The influence of polygamy on emotional violence, the most common form of IPV, has not been analyzed. The 2011 Uganda DHS was used to analyze emotional violence as defined by answers to a series of questions regarding control and verbal abuse. Bivariate analysis and probit modeling examined the association, controlling for demographic factors and other important correlates of IPV. Divorced respondents were less likely to experience emotional violence than women in a monogamous union. Women living in a polygamous union were significantly more likely to experience emotional violence than women in a monogamous union. This research demonstrates that women in polygamous unions should be a target group to reduce IPV in Uganda.