Factors associated with intimate partner physical violence among health service users

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women and identify factors associated. METHODS: Cross-sectional study comprising 504 women aged 15 to 49 years users of five primary care clinics in a municipality in the state of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in 2008. Face-to-face interviews were carried out using a questionnaire consisting of 119 questions on sociodemographic information, reproductive health, perceptions of gender roles in the marital relationship and experience of violence. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: More than a third of the women reported intimate partner violence. In the multiple regression analysis factors predisposing to violence included living in rental housing, sexual abuse during childhood, the partner's experience of physical violence during childhood, alcohol and drug use by the woman and her partner, and woman's perception of her partner's temperament. CONCLUSIONS: The factors identified produced a predictive model that can be used to assess a woman's risk of experiencing intimate partner violence.