Association of intimate partner violence with probable depression and symptoms of anxiety among women in Mozambique.

Purpose: Women in Mozambique are noted to be at heightened risk of poor mental health. Yet, studies have not examined how their experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) may be associated with mental health outcomes. Our study, therefore, aimed to examine the association between probable depression and symptoms of anxiety with women's experiences of IPV in Mozambique.

Methods: We used nationally representative data from the 2022-23 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey. Using STATA 17, we applied logistic regression analysis to our analytical sample of 4,454 ever-married women aged 15 to 49 who answered questions related to their experience of emotional, sexual, and physical IPV.

Results: The prevalence of probable depression and symptoms of anxiety were 12% and 13%, respectively. Compared to women who have never experienced any form of IPV, those who had been victims of physical IPV (OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.59, 3.23; OR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.88, 3.58), sexual IPV (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.48, 3.80; OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.37, 3.43) and emotional IPV (OR = 3.27, 95% CI = 2.41, 4.44; OR = 3.90, 95% CI = 2.87, 5.29) were all more likely to report depression and symptoms of anxiety, respectively. In addition, we also found the protective effect of higher household wealth and employment against the risk of depression and anxiety among women. Finally, we observed that religious affiliation is associated with depression and anxiety.

Conclusions: We suggest the urgent need to strategize and design a holistic mental health policy in Mozambique which prioritizes eradicating IPV among women. Increasing public awareness about the devastating impact of IPV on women while strengthening the laws that criminalize it will be helpful in this regard.