Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the European Union: The Influence of Male Partners' Traditional Gender Roles and General Violence

Objective: The influence of partners' traditional gender role and partners' level of general violence on intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has been studied separately most likely because they represent key aspects of apparently contrasting theoretical views. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the influence of both partners' gender role and partners' level of general violence on IPV against women. Method: Using data from 20,663 heterosexual women living with their partners from a probabilistic sample of 18- to 74-year-old women in the European Union, we investigated the association among physical and psychological IPV against women, partners' traditional roles, and partners' level of general violence. Results: The multilevel regression results indicated that, even after controlling for a number of interviewer, respondent, partner, and country-level characteristics, partners' traditional gender role and partners' level of general violence (main effects) were predictive of higher rates of physical and psychological IPV against women. Moreover, the greatest levels of IPV were observed in women who described their partners as both traditional and generally violent (interaction effect). Conclusions: The influence of partners' traditional gender role and partners' level of general violence on IPV against women has rarely been studied together most likely due to the apparently conflicting underlying theoretical assumptions. Our study provides empirical support for both views and suggests that intervention efforts focusing on both gender-based and non-gender-based violence are legitimate strategies for reducing the rates of IPV against women in society.