Intimate Partner Victimization and Drug Use in Queer Men’s Sexual Networks: Applying Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs)

• In Event: Innovative Applications of Network Analyses: People, Experiences, and Social Media

Abstract

For decades, both scholars and queer communities have highlighted the interrelatedness of substance use, violence, and sexual behavior within marginalized groups—in particular, queer men (QM). Similarly, experts have recognized the elevated prevalence and severity of this population’s intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences. However, these rich bodies of work seldom use conceptual and statistical models from social network analysis. As such, this project investigates how victimization by an intimate partner and drug use are entangled within the sexual networks of young QM. Secondary data come from RADAR, a cohort study examining individual, dyadic, and network correlates of health indicators among 1068 Chicago-area sexual and gender minorities, ages 16-29. My central research question is: Compared to non-victimized QM, are IPV survivors more likely to use non-prescribed drugs with sexual partners? I use exponential random graph models used to control for both individual attributes and network-level structural tendencies. Findings demonstrate the role that IPV victimization plays in young QM’s drug use with their sexual partners, and its association with structural network attributes. Implications for victimization and network research, social policy, and queer communities are discussed.

Author

• Brandon Craig, Northeastern University