Unseen Scars: Emotional Intimate Partner Violence and its Determinants among Women in Ghana, Analysis of the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey

Background Emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of partner abuse reported by Ghanaian women, yet nationally representative estimates of recent (past-12-month) emotional IPV and its determinants are limited. Methods We analyzed data from 4,234 ever-partnered women aged 15–49 years who completed the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey domestic-violence module. Emotional IPV in the past 12 months was defined as reporting at least one of three acts—being humiliated, threatened, or insulted by a current or most recent partner. Weighted descriptive statistics, bivariate tests, and multivariable survey-logistic regression identified factors associated with emotional IPV, adjusting for the DHS two-stage cluster design, sampling weights, and strata. Results The weighted prevalence of emotional IPV was 26.2% (95% CI: 24.4–28.0). In the fully adjusted model, women living in Ghana’s middle belt were less likely to experience emotional IPV than those in the coastal belt (AOR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.52–0.85). Women in polygamous unions had higher odds than those in monogamous unions (AOR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.01–1.76). First cohabitation at ≥ 20 years was protective (AOR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65–0.96). Partner factors were strong predictors: having a partner with only primary education (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.06–2.22) and alcohol use (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.87–2.93) increased the odds of emotional IPV. Acceptance of wife-beating if a wife refuses sex was also independently associated with emotional IPV (AOR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.01–2.15). Conclusions More than one in four Ghanaian women experienced emotional IPV in the year preceding the survey. Both structural factors (region, union type, age at first cohabitation) and partner-related characteristics (education, alcohol use) contribute to risk, as do gender-inequitable norms. Interventions to prevent emotional IPV should combine strategies that delay early cohabitation, reduce harmful alcohol use, and challenge social norms that condone violence within intimate relationships.