Association Between Child Marriage and Intimate Partner Violence: A Kenyan National Analysis

Child marriage and intimate partner violence (IPV) are global health crises that violate individual human rights. Prior research has linked child marriage to IPV in lower-and-middle-income countries; however, information regarding this relationship in Kenya is sparse. The present study aims to (a) estimate the prevalence of child marriage and various forms of IPV (emotional, physical, and sexual) and (b) examine the association between child marriage and IPV among Kenyan women. This study utilized the most recent 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), a large scale and nationally representative dataset. A total of 12,888 participants (M_age = 32.35 years; SD = 7.96) were included in the final analysis. The prevalence rates of child marriage and experiencing at least one form of IPV, emotional, physical, and sexual IPV, were found to be 31.23%, 44.8%, 34.5%, 32.6%, and 10.1%, respectively. Multinomial regression models revealed that the likelihood of experiencing at least one form of IPV was 25% higher (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.16-1.36, p < .01), emotional IPV was 19% higher (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.09-1.29, p < .01), and physical IPV was 31% higher (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.21-1.43, p < .01) among Kenyan women who married before the age of 18 years. Findings highlight the need for effective policy enforcement and implementation to prevent child marriage and safeguard women from IPV within child marriages.