Identifying Intimate Partner Violence Patterns and Risk Factors Among Men in Tanzania: A Latent Class Analysis

Introduction: High rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) are reported in Tanzania. Individuals experiencing IPV are typically categorized as victims-only (typically women) or perpetrators-only (typically men). However, studies suggest individuals can both experience and perpetrate IPV. Violence typology frameworks suggest that there are patterns of IPV that differ by victimization and perpetration experience, severity, type of violence, and the risk factors for violence. Person-centered analyses, like latent class analysis (LCA), are well-suited to exploring multiple aspects of IPV and associating risk factors with engagement in different IPV patterns. Methods: Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial of men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Endline data from a subsample of n=987 men who reported at least one sexual partner in the past year were included in these analyses. In Study 1, an LCA was conducted to identify IPV patterns. In Studies 2 and 3, Vermunt’s three-step method was used to identify individual-level risk factors, and interpersonal- or community-level risk factors, respectively, associated with engagement in varying patterns of IPV. Results: In Study 1, 53.8% of men reported any IPV victimization, perpetration, or both. The best-fitting model was a three-class model that included a low violence pattern (LV), a moderate psychological violence pattern (MPV), and a severe multiform violence pattern (SMV). Study 2 found that greater childhood adversity and household hunger were associated with engaging in MPV or SMV compared to LV. Worse mental health and lower self-control were associated with engaging in SMV compared to LV. Study 3 found that childhood exposure to parental violence and increased exposure to past year neighborhood disorder were associated with engaging in MPV or SMV compared to LV. No risk factors differentiated between patterns of SMV and MPV at p-value <0.05. However, consistent dose-responses indicate that an increase in each risk factor is predictive of patterns of SMV compared to MPV. Conclusions: There are distinct IPV patterns that differ by severity and type of violence and their associated risk factors. More research is needed to determine if there are risk factors that differentiate between patterns of moderate psychological and severe multiform IPV.