Conflict Resolution Style and Psychological Gender-Based Violence in Karnataka, India

Abstract

Gender-based violence remains a pervasive public health challenge in India, with one in three women reporting some form of violence (National Family Health Survey-5, 2021). Addressing intimate partner violence is central to global development agendas, including Sustainable Development Goal 5, which calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. Rates are particularly high in rural areas where gender norms, economic dependency, and limited institutional support constrain women’s agency in marital conflict. While structural and cultural determinants of gender-based violence have been widely studied, far less is known about how everyday conflict resolution behaviors within intimate partnerships may reinforce or reduce psychological violence. This pilot study examined the association between women’s conflict resolution styles and psychological gender-based violence in rural Karnataka as preparatory groundwork for a larger community intervention. Forty-two married women participating in local self-help groups completed structured interviews assessing four conflict resolution styles – problem solving, engagement, compliance, and withdrawal – along with psychological violence, mood symptoms, financial stress, and husbands’ alcohol use. Consistent with socio-ecological and feminist theories, conflict styles reflecting low power and relational disengagement were most strongly linked to psychological violence. Women who reported complying during conflict (e.g., yielding quickly, suppressing their perspective) or withdrawing (e.g., remaining silent, disengaging) experienced higher levels of psychological aggression. Engagement behaviors (e.g., escalating or becoming angry) showed a weaker and nonsignificant association. In contrast, constructive problem solving was not related to lower psychological violence, suggesting that cooperative strategies may have limited protective value when embedded within broader structural inequalities and gendered power dynamics. Contextual vulnerabilities provided additional nuance. Financial worries and mood difficulties, although prevalent, were not significantly associated with psychological violence, indicating that emotional or economic strain alone may not predict risk in this small sample. Husbands’ alcohol use showed expected directional patterns: daily consumption was linked to higher psychological violence, while occasional use showed a modest inverse association. These findings align with prior research identifying alcohol as a catalyst for escalation and highlight its relevance for future intervention components. Reporting of physical violence was rare, underscoring ongoing challenges in disclosure and the need to revisit sampling strategies, interviewer training, and culturally sensitive framing before scaling up. Overall, the pilot study demonstrates that conflict disengagement – rather than overt aggression – is most strongly associated with women’s exposure to psychological violence. These results support an intervention model that integrates conflict-resolution skill building with community-level norm change, institutional responsiveness, and targeted modules on alcohol use and emotional regulation. Insights from this pilot directly inform the design, sequencing, and theoretical grounding of the forthcoming multi-level intervention aimed at reducing gender-based violence in rural Karnataka.