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Coercive control and its associations with domestic violence and common mental disorders in a cross-sectional survey in informal settlements in Mumbai, India

Suman Kanougiya, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
Nayreen Daruwalla, Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (SNEHA), Mumbai India
Lu Gram, Institute for Global Health, University College London, London WC1N IEH, UK
Sivakami Muthusamy, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India
David Osrin, University College London

Coercive control behaviours central to the abuse of power; appears more frequently than other types of domestic violence. We examined the prevalence of domestic coercive control and its association with forms of domestic violence, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thinking. In a cross-sectional survey, we interviewed 4906 ever-married women aged 18-49 years living in urban informal settlements in Mumbai, India. We developed a 24-item scale of coercive control, assessed physical, sexual, and emotional violence, PHQ9, GAD7, and suicidal thinking by the World Health Organization question. Estimates involved univariable and multivariable logistic regression models and the prediction of marginal effects. The prevalence of domestic coercive control was 71%. 23% of women reported domestic violence in the past 12 months (emotional 19%, physical 13%, sexual 4%). Adjusted models suggested that women exposed to controlling behaviour had greater odds of surviving emotional (aOR 2.1; 95% CI 1.7, 2.7), physical (1.4; 1.0, 1.9), and sexual (1.8; 1.1, 3.0) domestic violence in the past 12 months; and higher odds of a positive screen for moderate or severe depression (1.7; 1.3, 2.2), anxiety (2.1; 1.3, 3.1), and suicidal thinking (2.5; 1.8, 3.4), and increased with each additional indicator of coercive control behaviour.

Keywords: Gender

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  Presented in Session 5. Gendered Impacts of Migration and Squatter Living