Examining Family Violence and Reproductive Autonomy Among Arab American Women

Background: Women who experience violence from an intimate partner are at risk of experiencing lower levels of reproductive autonomy. Among Arab American women, cases of intimate partner violence may also involve other family members, including in-laws or natal family, a phenomenon also known as family violence. This study examined the role of family violence on reproductive autonomy among Arab American women. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample (N = 99) of self-identified Arab American women between 18 and 65 years in Dearborn, Michigan, through a cross-sectional survey of self-reported experiences with family violence and reproductive autonomy. Analyses included univariate statistics on sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of family violence, a psychometric analysis of a multidimensional scale of reproductive autonomy, and adjusted linear regressions to assess how sociodemographic characteristics and family violence were associated with reproductive autonomy. Results: Nearly 60% of the sample had ever experienced family violence. Among women who had ever had sex (N = 74), higher educational attainment was positively associated with communication and freedom from coercion, and receipt of public assistance was negatively associated with communication. Several types of family violence were negatively associated with the communication and freedom from coercion subscales from the reproductive autonomy measure. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that sociodemographic factors and family violence are both associated with reproductive autonomy among Arab American women. More research is needed to address family violence and reproductive autonomy in this community and examine how these experiences shape the reproductive health of Arab American women.