Using an Ecological Framework to Understand Men's Reasons for Spousal Abuse: An Investigation of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007

This article applies an ecological model to explore men's reasons for spousal abuse in Bangladesh. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2007 indicate that multiple factors perpetuate spousal abuse: the individual-level factors of low education and wealth, a micro-level factor of women making decisions regarding household purchases, an exo-level factor relating to the wives' failure to seek legal support, and a macro-level factor reflecting cultural support for using violence to control wives. However, an ecological model reflecting all four levels of measurement (individual, micro, exo, and macro) explains the greatest amount of variance in spousal abuse. Policy implications include changing the support for spousal abuse at the cultural level, while addressing men's controlling attitudes towards women within the household.