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Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women occurs in all countries, all cultures and at every level of society; however, some populations may be at greater risk than others. The aim of this study was to explore IPV prevalence among Ecuadorian, Moroccan and Romanian immigrant women living in Spain and its possible association with their personal, family, social support and immigration status characteristics., Methods: Cross-sectional study of 1607 adult immigrant women residing in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia (2011). Prevalence rates and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were calculated, with current IPV being the outcome. Different women's personal (demographic), family, social support and immigration status characteristics were considered as explicative and control variables. All analyses were separated by women's country of origin., Results: Current IPV prevalence was 15.57% in Ecuadorians, 10.91% in Moroccans and 8.58% in Romanians. Some common IPV factors were found, such as being separated and/or divorced. In Romanians, IPV was also associated with lack of social support [AOR 5.96 (1.39-25.62)] and low religious involvement [AOR 2.17 (1.06-4.43)]. The likelihood of current IPV was lower among women without children or other dependents in this subgroup [AOR 0.29 (0.093-0.92)]., Conclusion: The IPV prevalence rates obtained for Moroccan, Romanian and Ecuadorian women residing in Spain were similar. Whereas the likelihood of IPV appeared to be relatively evenly distributed among Moroccan and Ecuadorian women, it was higher among Romanian women in socially vulnerable situations related to family responsibilities and the lack of support networks. The importance of intervention in the process of separation and divorce was common to all women., (© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: Perpetrators' experiences of violence during childhood are considered a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV). The objective of this study is to systematically review the characteristics and quality of papers which analyse the association between being battered during childhood, witnessing marital violence as a child within the family of origin and having an absent or rejecting father and the occurrence of IPV., Methods: Nine scientific databases were consulted (1960-2004). After applying the exclusion criteria, 10 studies were analysed. Variables are sample characteristics, directionality/study design, IPV and perpetrators' childhood measurements, findings, limitations and interventions., Results: All the studies found an association. Conflict Tactics Scale was the main tool used to measure the IPV. Different instruments were used to measure violent childhood experiences in men as an exposure. Recall bias (seven papers) and retrospective data (four papers) were reported as the main methodological limitations. Despite these, 50% of the studies proposed treatments/preventive measures., Conclusion: Our findings support the results of previous studies, implying that action recommendations within IPV prevention are still not evidence based. Methodological problems of the papers reviewed should be solved to obtain more useful data. Scientific evidence about the aetiology of IPV should be increased to guide effective prevention programmes.

Background: Male alcohol consumption is one of the accepted risk factors for intimate partner violence. The aim of this study is to assess the magnitude of the association between male alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence against women and the quality of the evidence of published papers exploring this relationship empirically., Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative studies (1966-2004). Eight databases from Social and Behavioural Sciences, Clinical Medicine, and Life Sciences were reviewed. Studies with available 2 x 2 table or odds ratio were analysed using meta-analytic techniques., Results: A total of 22 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the systematic review: 14 (63.6%) were cross-sectional studies, 6 (27.3%) case-series, 2 (9.1%) case-control studies. Ten studies analysed the relationship between alcohol and violence as their primary hypothesis and only two used a direct measure of alcohol consumption. Of them, 11 papers were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled odds ratio was 4.57 (95% confidence limits 3.30-6.35), but a high degree of heterogeneity was observed. The magnitude of the effect was inversely associated with the year of publication. The biggest odds ratios were obtained in the studies with the smallest sample sizes., Conclusions: The evidence about the relationship between alcohol consumption and intimate partner violence is of low quality in the study designs and maybe biased by publication of positive results. Currently there is not enough empirical evidence to support preventive policies based on male alcohol consumption as a risk factor in the particular case of intimate partner violence.