engleski

Intimate partner violence among Croatian university students

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem. Globally, the prevalence of IPV among students has been estimated to range from 17 to 45% for physical assaults within last year and women are far more likely to experience sexual and physical violence than men are. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of IPV among Croatian university students and its interconnections with gender, faculty field of science and repetition of a year of study. Methods: Within this cross-sectional study, a validated, anonymous questionnaire was self-administered to cross-faculty representative student sample of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia in April 2015. General demographic data, as well as data on academic features and data related to IPV among students were collected. Results: The study sample included 880 students, the average age being 22 (range 19-54), 33.9% males and 66.1% females. 67.7% of the students reported that they had experienced IPV, specifically: 74.5% of male and 64.3% of female students (χ2-test ; p=0.002) ; 63.9% of students within the biomedicine and health field of science, 73.0% of students within the technical field of science, 68.7% of students within the biotechnical field of science, 65.2% of students within the social field of science and 81.7% of students within the humanities field of science (χ2-test ; p=0.036) ; 73.5% of students who repeated and 66.1% of students who did not repeat a year of study (χ2-test ; p=0.057). Conclusion: IPV represents an important public health challenge among university students in Croatia. Students are at a formative period in their lives, especially in relation to the development of appropriate patterns of behavior with an intimate partner. For purposes of primary prevention of IPV, it is vital to increase our understanding of this challenging and complex issue because IPV during university period can establish patterns that persist over a lifetime.

Intimate partner violence ; University students ; Prevention ; Croatia

nije evidentirano