Intimate partner violence against Jordanian women: a systematic review of prevalence, associated factors, and health outcomes

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive public health problem in many countries, including Jordan. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews have been conducted in Jordan regarding the prevalence of IPV, its associated factors, and related health outcomes. This systematic review aimed to identify studies that explored not only the prevalence of IPV in Jordanian women, but also the associated factors and health outcomes. We included English and peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025 in APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria were studies conducted among Jordanian women who have experienced any form of IPV; conducted among women who are in a current or former intimate relationship; published between 2015 and 2025; published in the English language and peer-reviewed; mentioned the prevalence, associated factors or protective factors, or health outcomes; and 6) had quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method designs. The Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies (QuADS) tool was also used to assess the quality of the included studies. We used a hybrid approach, incorporating thematic and narrative syntheses to analyze the data as well as using Critical Theory for interpretation of the findings. Twenty-five studies were included, with prevalence rates of IPV ranging between 17.65% and 98.6%. IPV prevalence rates vary across different categories, including controlling (17.79%-93.1%), psychological/emotional (17%-84.1%), physical (8.07%-56.4%), sexual (1.1%-43.1%), and economic (38%-55.2%) IPV. The factors associated with IPV were identified at the individual, partner, marital relationship, and family and social context levels. Several health outcomes were found to be associated with IPV, including women’s maternal, physical, and mental health, marital relationship problems, and work-related outcomes. This systematic review presents evidence for policymakers, stakeholders, healthcare providers, and scientists on the importance of identifying and combating IPV against women in Jordan, highlighting the need to develop interventions and campaigns that target both women and men to address IPV. Future research should adopt a Critical Theory lens to analyze how cultural norms, family structure, structural inequities, and gender power imbalances normalize IPV to inform interventions and policies to combat IPV in Jordanian society.