2026/04/25 by Mohammad Al-Masaeid, Mohammad Almomani
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Social Sciences · #Agricultural risk and resilience #Family health #Family studies #Intimate Partner and Family Violence #Population #Population health #Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare #Public health
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/01494929.2026.2659144
crossref issued 2026/04/25 · crossref published 2026/04/25 · crossref published-online 2026/04/25 · openalex publication_date 2026/04/25 · crossref created 2026/04/25 · openalex created_date 2026/04/26 · crossref deposited 2026/07/30 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31 · crossref published-print 2026/08/18
In societies where cultural and social norms strongly emphasize childbearing, this study examines the link between household size and domestic violence against women. The analysis uses data from three waves (2012, 2017, and 2023) of the Jordan Population and Family Health Surveys, employing ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variables (IV) estimation. Same-sex sibling pairs and female firstborns are used as instruments to address endogeneity concerns. We find that the number of household members is associated with an increase in domestic violence, confirming that larger families face higher risks, including physical and emotional abuse. The results do not support that having more family members increases fear of the spouse, the likelihood of serious injury, the tendency to seek help, or women’s attitudes that justify domestic violence. While reduced female labor force participation and household economic stress are negatively associated with household size, this suggests a potential mechanism linking larger households to higher domestic violence risk. These findings highlight the importance of family size, caregiving burdens, and socio-demographic characteristics when designing policies to enhance women’s empowerment and combat domestic violence.