Daughters-In-Law and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan

Patrilocal marriage – living in the husband’s natal household – affects Central Asian women and their choices in family planning, labor force participation, and human capital investment. While anthropological evidence suggests that elder household members play a key role in the lives of junior women, empirical studies are scarce. This study uses Tajikistan’s 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (TJDHS) to explore the link between domestic violence and the living arrangements of daughters-in-law (DILs). Controlling on observables, propensity score matching (PSM) generates a positive treatment effect: women living with in-laws are far more likely to experience emotional abuse by their husbands. Treatment effects do not emerge between physical violence and in-laws’ presence. Results show that these DILs are about 3.6 times more likely than those living in nuclear households to experience emotional abuse regardless of the presence of the father-in-law, leading to the conclusion that responsibility can be plausibly ascribed to the mother-in-law.HIGHLIGHTS Domestic violence in three-generational households is an understudied issue.Patrilocal marriages whereby women live with parents-in-law are common in Central Asia.Women residing patrilocally may have limited ability to make independent choices.Tajik women living with parents-in-law are more likely to endure emotional abuse.A mother-in-law’s presence is linked to a higher level of emotional abuse in a Tajik household.