Invisibility Is Not Invincibility: The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Gay, Bisexual, and Straight Men’s Mental Health

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a critical public health problem. However, there is limited research conducted on and about men who are survivors. This project extends previous research by examining the post-traumatic impact of diverse forms of IPV (sexual, physical, emotional, control, and stalking) on the internalized and externalized mental health of gay, bisexual, and straight men. Using data from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (2011; N = 18,957), we find that all men are equally likely to report emotional victimization and controlling tactics (with between 50% and 70% doing so), while bisexual men are significantly more likely to report physical and sexual violence and gay men are significantly more likely to report intimate stalking. Due to these experiences, gay men are significantly more likely to report missing school or work, but bisexual men are significantly more likely to rate their current overall mental health as poor. Around 10% of all men, regardless of sexual orientation, report post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology and 30% of all men report difficulty sleeping. This research suggests that sexual orientation is a critical area of focus in the study of violence and mental health for men and that we can no longer ignore the voices and needs of men survivors: Invisibility is not invincibility.

A Scoping Review of Intimate Partner Violence as It Relates to the Experiences of Gay and Bisexual Men

“…Studies largely recruit heterosexual samples and seldom take stock of sexual minority populations (Chen et al, 2020; Langenderfer-Magruder et al, 2020; Sheridan et al, 2019; Strand & McEwan, 2011), resulting in a scarcity of empirical data in the stalking literature base to expand the issue to gay and bisexual men (Black et al, 2011; Pathé et al, 2000). While many IPV studies exclude experiences of stalking, one study that examined both phenomena indicated that 66.27% of gay men and 60.38% of bisexual men reported victimization of intimate stalking as a form of IPV ( N =136; Dickerson-Amaya & Coston, 2019). This compares with 26% of gay men and 37% of bisexual men who have experienced IPV that covers a range of abusive experiences (Breiding et al, 2013).…”

“…Compared with heterosexual men and women, gay and bisexual men have been found to experience IPV five times more than heterosexual men (Yu et al, 2013). Dickerson-Amaya and Coston’s (2019) study included bisexual, gay, and heterosexual men and reported victimization prevalence rates of IPV as 79%, 83%, and 62%, respectively, for these three cohorts, highlighting the added vulnerability of gay and bisexual men to IPV. Several studies have documented that gay and bisexual men experience rates of violence equivalent to or higher than heterosexual women (Finneran & Stephenson, 2013, 2014a; Frierson, 2014; Goldenberg et al, 2016; Houston & McKirnan, 2007; Kay & Jeffries, 2010; Pimentel, 2015; Rollè et al, 2018; Woodyatt & Stephenson, 2016).…”

“…Stephenson and Finneran (2017a), in their large-scale survey of 1,075 gay and bisexual men in the United States, reported that 47.8% of the cohort had experienced at least one form of IPV from a male partner in the past 12 months. Studies in Australia (Ovenden et al, 2019) and the United States (Dickerson-Amaya & Coston, 2019) have reported prevalence rates of 62.1% and 83%, respectively, for sexual minority men (gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or queer).…”

“…It therefore appears timely to consider the current literature base regarding same-sex IPV. Violence research that focuses on the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community tends to have a predominant focus on lesbian and bisexual women (Dickerson-Amaya & Coston, 2019), despite the heightened risk of sexual minority men being exposed to IPV (Stephenson et al, 2013). Edwards et al (2015) suggested that the literature base on sexual minority individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and nonheterosexual individuals) represented 3% of all research on IPV.…”

Austrian male patients’ gender role conflict is associated with their wish for interpersonal violence to be addressed during patient-physician conversations: a questionnaire study

“…Even though many of those men who experienced interpersonal violence suffer negative physical or mental health consequences [ 8 – 10 ], men are in general reluctant to seek formal or medical help after experiencing violence [ 11 – 13 ]. The Model of Pathways to Treatment [ 14 , 15 ] explains people’s help-seeking behavior.…”