[Intimate partner violence and family dysfunction among Mexican women seen a Primary Care Unit].

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence and risk factors for intimate-partner violence (IPV) in women who attended a Family Medicine Unit in Tijuana, Mexico.

METHODS

A total of 297 women were interviewed and evaluated using two validated scales: violence and severity index and family APGAR to assess family functioning and IPV respectively.

RESULTS

The mean age (± SD) was 40.6±13.8 years, and 120 (40.4%) women had suffered IPV: 47 (15.8%) psychological violence; 31 (10.4%) sexual violence; 77 (25.9%) physical violence, and in 19 (6.4%) there were actions that threatened the lives of women. The most common causes of domestic violence were women who reported that their partner had been jealous, or suspicion from friends (37.4%). Twenty two (7.4%) of the women with domestic violence reported that they had sought help.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of IPV was high and associated with the education level of the couple and family functioning.