Dyadic Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence Among Male Couples in Three US Cities

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nicolas A Suarez, University of Michigan; Matthew J Mimiaga, Brown University; Robert Garofalo, Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital Chicago; Emily Brown, Fenway Health; Anna Marie Bratcher, Emory University; Taylor Wimbly, Emory University; Marco A Hidalgo, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles; Samuel Hoehnle, Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital Chicago; Jennie Thai, Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital Chicago; Erin Kahle, University of Michigan; Patrick S Sullivan, Emory University; Rob Stephenson, University of Michigan
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-07-01
• Publisher: SAGE Publications (UK and US): Open Access Titles
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2018, The Author(s) 2018.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1557988318774243
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: American Journal of Men's Health
• ISSN: 1557-9883
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 1039
• End Page: 1047
• Grant/Funding Information: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.; This publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD075655 (mPIs: Garofalo, Mimiaga, and Stephenson).
• Keywords: HEALTH; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology; MINORITY STRESS; GAY MEN; UNITED-STATES; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; SEX; Intimate partner violence; DRUG-USE; men who have sex with men; BINGE DRINKING; internalized homophobia; SUBSTANCE USE; WOMEN; RISK BEHAVIORS
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent and pressing public health concern that affects people of all gender and sexual identities. Though studies have identified that male couples may experience IPV at rates as high as or higher than women in heterosexual partnerships, the body of literature addressing this population is still nascent. This study recruited 160 male–male couples in Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago to independently complete individual surveys measuring demographic information, partner violence experience and perpetration, and individual and relationship characteristics that may shape the experience of violence. Forty-six percent of respondents reported experiencing IPV in the past year. Internalized homophobia significantly increased the risk for reporting experiencing, perpetrating, or both for any type of IPV. This study is the first to independently gather data on IPV from both members of male dyads and indicates an association between internalized homophobia and risk for IPV among male couples. The results highlight the unique experiences of IPV in male–male couples and call for further research and programmatic attention to address the exorbitant levels of IPV experienced within some of these partnerships.