Lineage Ties and Domestic Violence in Ghana

Abstract

Although studies have revealed that there are numerous confounding factors affecting intimate partner violence in non-Western societies, the relevance of lineage ties has been overlooked. This article focuses on intimate partner physical violence (IPPV). Specifically, it employs data from the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey to examine the relationship between lineage groups and IPPV in Ghana. Data analyses reveal that married women who belong to patrilineal groups are more likely to experience IPPV, even after controlling for important sociodemographic factors, such as educational status and area of residence. Specifically, the probit regressions show that all else equal, the probability of experiencing IPPV is about 5 percentage points higher for women from patrilineal societies than for women from matrilineal societies. The logit regressions reveal that women from patrilineal societies are about 1.4 times more likely to experience IPPV than women from matrilineal societies. This research contributes to the scarce literature on the nature of domestic violence among women in sub-Saharan Africa.