Impact of the RHANI Wives intervention on marital conflict and sexual coercion

Document Type

Article (peer-reviewed)

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effects of the RHANI (Reducing HIV among Non‐Infected) Wives intervention on marital conflict and intimate partner violence (IPV) in urban India. Methods: A 2‐armed cluster‐randomized controlled trial (7 intervention, 6 control clusters) of the RHANI Wives intervention was conducted with 220 women contending with a history of IPV and/or husband's drunken behavior. Participants were surveyed at baseline and 4.5‐month follow‐up. Outcome measures included marital conflict (arguments with husband in past 3 months), marital IPV (physical or sexual violence from husband in past 3 months), and marital sexual coercion (husband forcing sex at last sex). Intention‐to‐treat logistic generalized linear mixed models were used to determine intervention impact. Results: One‐third (35.0%) of participants reported physical or sexual abuse from their husband in the past 3 months, and 58.6% reported that their husband was drunk in the past 30 days. Intention‐to‐treat analyses indicated time × treatment reductions in marital conflict (risk ratio [RR] 0.4; 90% confidence interval [CI], 0.1–0.9; P = 0.06) and marital sexual coercion (RR 0.2; 90% CI, 0.05–0.9; P = 0.08), but not IPV. Conclusion: The findings suggest the potential utility of this intervention in reducing marital conflict and sexual coercion among women in urban India.

DOI

10.1016/j.ijgo.2014.01.015

Language

English

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