Determinants of partner violence in health workers of IMSS, Morelos - Determinantes de violencia de pareja en trabajadoras del IMSS morelos

OBJETIVO: Identificar la ocurrencia de violencia de pareja y evaluar los factores asociados a este fenomeno en una muestra de trabajadoras del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) Morelos. MATERIAL Y METODOS: Un total de 1 173 mujeres de la cohorte de trabajadores del IMSS proporciono informacion sobre frecuencia y percepcion de severidad de violencia psicologica, fisica o sexual durante los ultimos 12 meses. El estudio se realizo en el estado de Morelos, entre octubre de 1998 y marzo de 2000. Se emplearon modelos de regresion logistica politomica a fin de estimar razones de momios para distintos grados de violencia. RESULTADOS: Se observo una alta prevalencia de violencia. Los principales factores asociados fueron la relacion de pareja y el consumo de alcohol; el estado emocional de la pareja en el hogar; la tension laboral de la mujer y los antecedentes de violencia en la infancia. CONCLUSIONES: Los principales factores determinantes de violencia de pareja son potencialmente modificables a traves de intervenciones que ayuden a manejar el nivel de tension. Es necesario tomar en cuenta estos hallazgos al planear programas preventivos de violencia de pareja en Mexico. Palabras clave: ocurrencia; severidad; violencia domestica; Mexico ABSTRACT 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. Key words: occurrence; severity; domestic violence; Mexico