Reviewer’s report  
 
Title: Quality of life, psychological distress and violence among women in close relationships: a 
population -based study in Finland  
 
Version: 0 Date: 06 Feb 2020  
 
Reviewer: Research Square Reviewer 1  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
PEER REVIEWER AS SESSMENTS:  
 
OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is there a clear objective that addresses a testable research 
question(s) (brief or other article types: is there a clear objective)?  
Yes - there is a clear objective  
 
DESIGN - Is the current approach (inclu ding controls and analysis protocols) appropriate for the 
objective?  
Yes - the approach is appropriate  
 
EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyses performed with technical rigor to allow 
confidence in the results?  
Yes - experiments and analyses were perf ormed appropriately  
 
STATISTICS - Is the use of statistics in the manuscript appropriate?  
Yes - appropriate statistical analyses have been used in the study  
 
INTERPRETATION - Is the current interpretation/discussion of the results reasonable and not 
overst ated?  
Yes - the author's interpretation is reasonable  
 
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Is the current version of this work technically 
sound? If not, can revisions be made to make the work technically sound?  
Probably - with minor revisions  
 
PEER REVIEWER CO MMENTS:  
 
GENERAL COMMENTS:  
 
This was an interesting study, but revisions are needed.  
 
REQUESTED REVISIONS:  
 
 
 
 
Abstract  
 
Non-victims could be stated as unexposed. Victimhood is not a contemporary phrase. The 
females should be referred to as women. The s ample is not "used" and this should be rephrased.  
 
The analysis described as logistic regression, but coefficient is reported, indicating multiple 
regression was used.  
 
The policy related implication is not clear.  
 
The abstract should state that this stu dy is about intimate partner violence.  
 
Introduction generally well written and easy to follow.  
 
The sample size is impressively large.  
 
Methods  
 
The inclusion criteria should be clearly specified. Were some women excluded?  
 
The incorporation of substa nce abuse needs a rationale in the study. It feels tacked on but 
unexplained.  
 
Scale reliabilities should be reported.  
 
The authors should also include the limitation that alcohol misuse also contributes to violence 
exposure.  
 
The reference category for  the AUDIT should be justified.  
 
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required  in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an  
additi onal statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I am able to assess the statistics  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality  of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received  reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an 
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this 
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain o r lose 
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?  
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the 
manuscript?  
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an  organization that 
holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
6. Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of  the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
This reviewer has been recruited by a partner organization, Research Square. Reviewers with 
declared or apparent competing interests are not utilized for t hese reviews. This reviewer has 
agreed to publication of their comments online under a Creat ive Commons Attribution License 
attributed to Research Square and was paid a small honorarium for  completing the review within 
a specified timeframe. Honoraria for reviews such as this are paid re gardless of the reviewer  
recommendation.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understand that my nam e will be included 
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, my named report 
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the authors' 
responses. I agree for my report to be made availabl e under an Open Access Creative Commons 
CC-BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand that any comments 
which I do not wish to be included in my named report can be included as confidential comments 
to the editors, which will no t be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal