Influence of Sociocultural Factors on the Attitudes toward Intimate Partner Violence among College Students in Costa Rica

Purpose: Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is a worldwide public health issue affecting millions of people, adolescents and young adults are disproportionally affected. IPV is a complex problem primarily because it is influenced by a web of risks and protective factors, which interact and shape the experiences of each person. However, the exact nature of these interactions is not well understood, particularly among emerging adults and in cultures where gender norms are rapidly changing and less IPV research has been conducted, such as in Costa Rica. Specifically, little is known about the effect of sociocultural factors on the experiences of IPV among this population. The purpose of this correlational descriptive study was to assess the role of parents’ background, area of origin, religious commitment, and gender and partnership stereotypes on the attitudes toward IPV among college students in Costa Rica. 

Methods: A convenience sample of undergraduate college students recruited from a Costa Rican public university completed an electronic self-report survey (N=249). Students reported their attitudes toward IPV, gender norms, partnership stereotypes, level of religious commitment, and parents’ background. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Analysis was controlled by gender, sexual identity, religious attendance, marital status, and parents’ marital status. 

Results: Although all the proposed variables were not significantly associated with attitudes toward IPV except partnership stereotypes (p=.001), IPV attitudes were significantly associated with gender (p=.001), marital status (p=<.001), and religious attendance (p=.026). The indirect effect of partnership stereotypes through religious attendance on the attitudes toward IPV was also significant (p=.03). In addition, path analysis results indicated that religious attendance was significantly linked to partnership stereotypes (p=.005) and religious commitment (p<.001), while parents’ background was significantly related to religious commitment (p=.007). 

Conclusion:

Findings elucidate how college students’ attitudes toward IPV in Costa Rica are shaped through the interaction of multilevel sociocultural factors. Implications of the study and recommendations for nursing, research, practice, and policy are discussed.