Determinants of partner violence in health workers of IMSS, Morelos

Objective. To study the prevalence of partner violence and to identify the associated risk factors in a sample of female workers of IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) Morelos State. Material and Methods. Cross-sectional data from 1 173 women participating in the cohort study of IMSS workers are utilized to study these associations. The study provides information on frequency of psychological physical or sexual violence and perception of severity during the 12 months prior to the time of data collection. It was carried out in Morelos between October 1998 and March 2000. Polytomous logistic regression models were used to obtain odds ratios for different degrees of partner violence. Results. A high prevalence of partner violence is observed in the sample. Main factors associated with higher severity of violence are state of the relationship and alcohol intake emotional status of the couple at home work burden of the woman and a history of violence in childhood. Conclusions. All these factors are potentially modifiable through interventions aimed at stress reduction. These results should be considered when developing preventive programs against partner violence in Mexico.