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Indeterminate Responses to Attitudinal Questions About Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Rural Bangladesh

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Abstract

Using data from 165 participants in a survey experiment in six Bangladeshi villages, we explored the levels and correlates of women’s indeterminate responses to a five-part attitudinal question on intimate partner violence (IPV) against women from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Over 80 % had indeterminate responses to all five parts of the question. Indeterminate responses included silence or initial non-response (53–58 %), misunderstanding the question (30–37 %), and conditional opinions (7–13 %). The percentages of women who justified IPV were lower when indeterminate responses were permitted (7–12 %) than when they were not (37–57 %). Older women (≥26 years) with less schooling (≤2 grades) whose husbands were older (≥36 years), had less schooling (≤8 grades), and were at least 7 years older than the respondent often had higher odds of giving indeterminate responses. Husbands’ attributes and spousal age gaps were most consistently associated with women’s indeterminate responses. Latent power, or fears of expressing transgressive views, may underlie women’s indeterminate responses to attitudinal questions about IPV against women. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

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Notes

  1. This age range differed slightly from the DHS (15 – 49 years) in order to include only “adult” women, defined as at least 18 years.

  2. Few sampled households had more than one eligible woman. Reporting of age and date of birth was inconsistent for some respondents, and one selected respondent had a reported age of 62.

  3. Because all interviewers were similar in gender, schooling attainment, age, and prior experience, subgroups in the survey experiment effectively were matched on these attributes, and their effects on women’s responses to the attitudinal question cannot be assessed.

  4. Questions were taken from the Bangla translation of the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). A limited number of questions were modified for suitability in the study villages. For example, the question on membership in community-based organizations included more detailed response options in our survey than in the 2007 BDHS.

  5. In the DHS in general and the 2007 BDHS in particular, respondents are permitted to answer yes, no, or don’t know to this question. Yet, based on findings from the formative cognitive interviews, the list of indeterminate response options was expanded in this survey experiment to quantify better the exact nature of such responses. Since the question implied a yes or no response, the response options were not read aloud, but the actual response given was recorded using the complete list. It is unknown how long the interviewers waited before recording silence as the initial response.

  6. The number of indeterminate responses was considered as an outcome; however, the distribution of this variable was highly left-skewed, with most women giving indeterminate responses to the attitudinal question for all five situations.

  7. This quote reveals several levels of reinterpreting the original question. First, the respondent may have become confused if the Bengali translation “beat her” was used instead of “beat the wife.” Second, the respondents’ response “I have got only daughter” suggests she is confusing “children” with the Bengali conversational translation “boys.” So, the respondent “corrects” the interviewer by saying “I have two daughters.” Third, the respondent’s misunderstanding of the question becomes apparent when she questions why her daughters should be beaten.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was supported in part by a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (1R21HD058173-01, co-PIs Sidney Ruth Schuler and Kathryn M. Yount). We appreciate the comments of anonymous reviewers on a prior version of this manuscript, and we gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our study participants and in-country collaborators and field staff. Any remaining errors of omission or commission are the responsibility of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubert Department of Global Health and Department of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Kathryn M. Yount

  2. Department of International Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Nafisa Halim

  3. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Sara Head

  4. FHI 360, Washington, DC, USA

    Sidney Ruth Schuler

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  1. Kathryn M. Yount
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  2. Nafisa Halim
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Correspondence to Kathryn M. Yount.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Questions on Personal Attitudes About Wife Hitting or Beating

Control Survey A: DHS Questions

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations

  1. 1.

    If she goes out without telling him?

    1. 1a.

      1a. If you had to choose, in your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she goes out without telling him?

  2. 2.

    If she neglects the children?

    1. 2a.

      If you had to choose, in your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she neglects the children?

  3. 3.

    If she argues with him?

    1. 3a

      If you had to choose, in your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she argues with him?

  4. 4

    If she refuses to have sex with him?

    1. 4a.

      If you had to choose, in your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she refuses to have sex with him?

  5. 5

    If she does not obey elders in the family?

    1. 5a.

      5a. If you had to choose, in your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she does not obey elders in the family?

Variant Survey B: Wife Unintentionally Transgresses Gender Norms

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations:

  1. 1.

    A wife is home alone; at this time someone comes to tell her that her mother is very ill. She rushes to her parents’ house without telling her husband. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for going out without telling him?

  2. 2.

    What if the wife is over-burdened with work one morning? Normally, she supervises the children’s play and keeps them neat and clean. But, one day, it has been raining since morning. While she is working hard to finish her house work, the children play in front of the house and get dirty. She does not have time to bathe them before her husband returns. The husband returns and sees that the children are dirty. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for neglecting the children? To be clear, I am not asking you whether you think it is justified to hit or beat the children. I am asking whether you think the husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in this situation.

  3. 3.

    What if the husband stays home out of laziness for several days, refusing to go out and work. His wife tells him they are running out of food and there is not enough money to buy food—and asks him to go out and work. The husband tells his wife to shut up. The wife argues with him. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for arguing with him?

  4. 4.

    What if the wife is ill and her husband returns home at night and wants to have sex with her? She talks about her illness and refuses to have sex with the husband. She explains that she has stomach pains and a fever. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for refusing to have sex with him?

  5. 5.

    What if the mother-in-law of the woman tells her to sweep the home-yard? The wife disobeys because she is busy caring for her baby. The mother-in-law complains to her son when he returns home. In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for disobeying her mother-in-law?

Variant Survey C: Wife Willfully Transgresses Gender Norms

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. In your opinion, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations:

1. What if a wife is home alone and goes to her parents’ house just for fun without telling her husband? In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for going out without telling him?

2. What if the wife often leaves her young children unsupervised and lets them go around looking dirty? Her husband has asked her many times before to supervise their play and keep them clean, but she does not pay attention to what he asks. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for neglecting the children? To be clear, I am not asking you whether you think it is justified to hit or beat the children. I am asking whether you think the husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in this situation.

3. What if the wife is quarrelsome by nature? She often disagrees with what her husband says and argues with him for no reason. In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for arguing with him?

4. What if the wife refuses to have sex with her husband whenever she is not in the mood? In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for refusing to have sex with him?

5. What if the wife’s mother-in-law tells her to sweep the home-yard, but the wife ignores that and spends the morning resting and chatting with her neighbor? In your opinion, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for disobeying her mother-in-law?

Questions on Perceived Community Norms About Wife Hitting or Beating

Control Survey D: DHS Questions

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think other people in your community believe.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. According to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations:

  1. 1.

    If she goes out without telling him?

    1. 1a.

      If you had to choose, according to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she goes out without telling him?

  2. 2.

    If she neglects the children?

    1. 2a.

      If you had to choose, according to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she neglects the children?

  3. 3.

    If she argues with him?

    1. 3a

      If you had to choose, according to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she argues with him?

  4. 4.

    If she refuses to have sex with him?

    1. 4a

      If you had to choose, according to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she refuses to have sex with him?

  5. 5

    If she does not obey elders in the family?

    1. 5a

      If you had to choose, according to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife if she does not obey elders in the family?

Variant Survey E: Wife Unintentionally Transgresses Gender Norms

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think other people in your community believe.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. According to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations:

  1. 1.

    A wife is home alone; at this time someone comes to tell her that her mother is very ill. She rushes to her parents’ house without telling her husband. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for going out without telling him?

  2. 2.

    What if the wife is over-burdened with work one morning? Normally, she supervises the children’s play and keeps them neat and clean. But, one day, it has been raining since morning. While she is working hard to finish her house work, the children play in front of the house and get dirty. She does not have time to bathe them before her husband returns. The husband returns and sees that the children are dirty. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for neglecting the children? To be clear, I am not asking you whether other people in your community think it is justified to hit or beat the children. I am asking whether other people in your community think the husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in this situation.

  3. 3.

    What if the husband stays home out of laziness for several days, refusing to go out and work. His wife tells him they are running out of food and there is not enough money to buy food—and asks him to go out and work. The husband tells his wife to shut up. The wife argues with him. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for arguing with him?

  4. 4.

    What if the wife is ill and her husband returns home at night and wants to have sex with her? She talks about her illness and refuses to have sex with the husband. She explains that she has stomach pains and a fever. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for refusing to have sex with him?

  5. 5.

    What if the mother-in-law of the woman tells her to sweep the home-yard? The wife disobeys because she is busy caring for her baby. The mother-in-law complains to her son when he returns home. According to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for disobeying her mother-in-law?

Variant Survey F: Wife Willfully Transgresses Gender Norms

I will now ask you some questions. Please listen to them and then answer thoughtfully. Please tell me what you think.

Sometimes a husband is annoyed or angered by things that his wife does. According to other people in your community, is a husband justified in hitting or beating his wife in the following situations:

  1. 1.

    What if a wife is home alone and goes to her parents’ house just for fun without telling her husband? According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for going out without telling him?

  2. 2.

    What if the wife often leaves her young children unsupervised and lets them go around looking dirty? Her husband has asked her many times before to supervise their play and keep them clean, but she does not pay attention to what he asks. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for neglecting the children? To be clear, I am not asking you whether other people in your community think it is justified to hit or beat the children. I am asking whether other people in your community think the husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife in this situation.

  3. 3.

    What if the wife is quarrelsome by nature? She often disagrees with what her husband says and argues with him for no reason. According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for arguing with him?

  4. 4.

    What if the wife refuses to have sex with her husband whenever she is not in the mood? According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for refusing to have sex with him?

  5. 5.

    What if the wife’s mother-in-law tells her to sweep the home-yard, but the wife ignores that and spends the morning resting and chatting with her neighbor? According to other people in your community, is the husband justified in hitting or beating his wife for disobeying her mother-in-law?

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Yount, K.M., Halim, N., Head, S. et al. Indeterminate Responses to Attitudinal Questions About Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Rural Bangladesh. Popul Res Policy Rev 31, 797–830 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-012-9241-x

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