Factors associated with intimate partner violence in medical students: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To determine the demographic factors associated with intimate partner violence in medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 588 human medicine students enrolled at a private university in Piura, Peru, during the 2021-2 academic year (July-December), with a median age of 20 years, the majority of whom (406) reported a relationship of less than two years (69.1%). The Women's Abuse Screening Tool (wast) was used to assess indicators of intimate partner violence. For numerical and categorical variables, descriptive analyzes were created. Likewise, simple and multiple linear regressions were developed for the crude and adjusted models, using Stata v. 15.0. Results: Intimate partner violence was present in two out of five students (40.1%; 95% CI 36.9-44.8%), and nine out of ten students had a lover or boyfriend (90.9%; 95% CI % 88.4- 93.1%). In the adjusted regression model, women who had a lover or boyfriend reported 26% less prevalence of intimate partner violence (PR 0.74; 95% CI 0.55-1.00) compared to those who were married or cohabiting. with your partner. Conclusions: The presence of violence increases with age and the duration of the relationship, and students who are married or in a relationship reported more partner violence than students in a relationship with a partner or boyfriend.