Relationship Between Couple’s Personality Traits and Spousal Abuse of Women of Reproductive Age in Sari, Iran

Spousal violence is one of the major problems of women. The personality traits of couples have been mentioned as one of the factors related to spousal violence, although there are contradictory results. The present study aims to determine the relationship between the personality traits of couples and spousal abuse against women of reproductive age.

In this cross-sectional study, participants were 156 couples covered by the health centers in Sari, Iran, in 2022, who were selected with a systematic sampling method. The data were collected using a socio-demographic form, the spousal abuse questionnaire, and Goldberg’s international personality item pool. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software, version 25. The data were reported by using Mean±SD, frequency, and percentage and were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The significance level was set at 0.05

Mild emotional abuse had the highest prevalence (76.3%). Husband’s conscientiousness trait predicted emotional abuse of women. Husband’s agreeableness trait and wife’s neuroticism trait predicted physical abuse of women, and husband’s neuroticism trait predicted sexual abuse of women. Moreover, husband’s smoking predicted physical abuse of women.

The personality traits of couples can predict spousal abuse of women. Identifying the personality traits of couples, along with individual and social factors, can significantly help in prevention, screening, and developing appropriate treatments for abused women.