Structural Relationship between Autonomy and Intimate partner violence: Mediation Role of Self-esteem

Objective: Intimate partner violence represents a prevalent issue for women and is strongly correlated with mental health difficulties. This investigation examines the structural associations between autonomy and IPV among Iranian women who have encountered such violence, shedding illumination on the intricate factors contributing to IPV and potential avenues for intervention. Methods: The research method is correlation, and the structural equation modeling method was used to test the proposed model. The statistical population was all women who referred to counseling clinics in Bandar Abbas city in ۲۰۲۳. Data were collected from a sample of ۳۰۶ Iranian women who had undergone IPV via purposive sampling method, utilizing a domestic violence questionnaire (Mohseni Tabrizi et al., ۲۰۱۳), basic psychological need satisfaction scale (La Guardia et al. ۲۰۰۰), and Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, ۱۹۷۹). Results: The findings corroborated the appropriate fit of the proposed model and disclosed that autonomy exerted noteworthy direct and indirect effects on IPV, which were mediated through self-esteem. Conclusion: The findings show that with the increase of women's autonomy, intimate partner violence decreases and self-esteem plays a moderating role in the relationship between these two variables.