Project Summary

Intimate partner violence is a public health crisis with wide-range effects. Historically, research in this area has focused on the experience of heterosexual couples. More recently, researchers have begun focusing factors that may contribute relationships among LGBTQ+ populations, including sexual minority. Informed by Herek et al.’s (2009) model of sexual stigma, we explored how sexual minority’s men experiences of disempowerment and conformity to masculine norms intersect to influence intimate partner violence. Specifically, this study examined the complex relationships between intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration, as moderated by sexual stigma and masculinity among sexual minority men.

Approach

• Online survey recruitment
• Moderated moderation analyses
  

Key Findings

• Moderated moderation confirmed the strong positive association between physical IPV victimization and perpetration. Additionally, sexual stigma emerged as a significant moderator of this relationship, with higher levels strengthening the association. Moreover, significant three-way interactions indicated conformity to winning moderated the moderating effect of sexual stigma on the relation between physical IPV victimization and perpetration for both gay and bi+ men. While psychological IPV victimization predicted greater perpetration of psychological violence, no significant moderators of this relationships were found among gay or bi+ men.
  
  
• Sexual minority men’s experience of sexual stigma and constructions of masculinity may be especially relevant to whether they perpetrate physical IPV when they have experienced physical IPV, but may be less relevant in the case of psychological IPV. The findings suggest a strong need for interventions that account for the influence of heterosexism and masculinity on sexual minority men’s IPV perpetration.