Partner Violence Among South African Adults

Despite a high prevalence of intimate partner violence in South Africa, few epidemiological studies have assessed individual risk factors and differen-tial vulnerability by gender. This study seeks to analyze gender differences in risk for intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration accord-ing to childhood and adult risk factors in a national sample of South African men and women. Using data from the cross-sectional, nationally representa-tive South Africa Stress and Health Study, the authors examine data from 1,715 currently married or cohabiting adults on reporting of intimate partner violence. Our analysis include (a) demographic factors, (b) early life risk fac-tors (including exposure to childhood physical abuse, witnessing parental vio-lence, parental closeness, and early onset DSM-IV disorders), and (c) adult risk factors (including experiencing the death of a child and episodes of DSM-IV disorders after age 20). Although prevalence rates of intimate partner violence are high among both genders, women are significantly more likely than men to report being victimized (29.3 % vs. 20.9%). Rates of perpetrating violence are Article by guest on September 11, 2016jiv.sagepub.comDownloaded fro