This study investigates regional variations in the factors associated with acceptance and actual experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) among married women in northern and southern Nigeria - two regions with distinct socio-cultural and economic differences. Data from the 2018 demographic and health survey are analysed to compare these two regions. The sample comprised married/living-with-partner women within the reproductive age of 15-49. Overall, a positive association exists between IPV experience and IPV acceptance, regardless of which is used as the outcome variable. Contrary to the notion that IPV is prevalent where its acceptance is high, this study finds that the reverse is true. IPV acceptance is significantly higher in the north than in the south (39.4% versus 14.7%), but the reverse is the case for the actual experience of IPV (20.1% versus 24.7%). Being employed and having access to the internet reduce the odds of IPV victimisation for women in the south, but increases the chances for northern women. Muslims in the north have significantly higher odds of IPV acceptance than their Christian counterparts in the same region, but the reverse is the case in the south. Regional differences also exist in the influence of decision-making, educational difference between spouses, and media exposure. While the cosmopolitan-success and conservative-failure hypothesis explains the regional differences in the acceptance of IPV, it fails to explain differences in the actual experience of IPV. The study provides alternative explanations for the regional differences in the experience of IPV and acceptance of it in Nigeria, and it points to the need for differing intervention programmes across regions. Notably, the study found that the association between justification of IPV and actual experience of it is bi-directional and suggests caution in making causal inferences.

本研究调查了尼日利亚北部和南部已婚妇女对亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）的接受度和实际经历相关因素的区域差异——这两个地区具有明显的社会文化和经济差异。对 2018 年人口和健康调查的数据进行了分析，以比较这两个地区。样本包括 15-49 岁育龄内的已婚/与伴侣同居的女性。总体而言，无论使用哪一个作为结果变量，IPV 体验和 IPV 接受度之间都存在正相关关系。与 IPV 在其接受度高的地方盛行的观点相反，本研究发现事实恰恰相反。北方地区对IPV的接受程度明显高于南方（39.4%比14.7%），但IPV的实际体验却恰恰相反（20.1%比24.7%）。南方女性的就业和上网机会降低了 IPV 受害的几率，但北方女性的受害几率却增加了。北部的穆斯林接受 IPV 的几率明显高于同一地区的基督教徒，但南部的情况恰恰相反。决策影响力、配偶教育程度差异、媒体曝光度等方面也存在地区差异。虽然世界性成功与保守失败假说解释了 IPV 接受程度的地区差异，但它无法解释 IPV 实际体验的差异。该研究为尼日利亚 IPV 体验和接受程度的地区差异提供了替代解释，并指出需要在不同地区制定不同的干预计划。值得注意的是，该研究发现 IPV 的合理性与实际体验之间的关联是双向的，并建议谨慎进行因果推论。