Men’s Report of Domestic Violence Perpetration in Bangladesh: Correlates From a Nationally Representative Survey

This study provides an examination of the antecedents of domestic violence perpetration among a nationally representative sample of men in Bangladesh using an ecological model. Secondary analysis of survey data from nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey is used to examine potential antecedents of perpetration of domestic violence in a sample of 3,371 ever-married men between the ages of 15 and 54 years. Outcome measure is perpetration of domestic violence as measured by a modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), and predictor variables include maternal domestic violence, egalitarianism, marital age, number of household members, wealth index, marital duration, and demographic variables. Men who reported maternal domestic violence had 0.13 greater probability of perpetrating domestic violence compared with men who did not report maternal domestic violence, men who were egalitarian had 0.04 greater probability of perpetrating domestic violence compared with men who were not egalitarian, men in larger households were less likely to report domestic violence. At the same time, the probability of domestic violence perpetration was 0.07 smaller for men who were married at age 36 years and older, as compared with men who were married between the ages of 16 and 20 years, as well as men who were married for more than 5 years when compared with men married for 0 to 4 years. Finally, the probability of domestic violence perpetration was 0.17 smaller for men who were married between the ages of 21 and 25 years and 0.10 smaller for men married between the ages of 26 and 35 years, compared with men who married below the legal marital age of 21. This study provides support for the use of an ecological model to explain domestic violence perpetration in the context of Bangladesh to suggest a multipronged holistic effort to address this insidious social problem and prevent its intergenerational transmission.