Intimate Partner Violence among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Adults: A Latent Class Analysis of Bidirectional Violence

• In Event: Presence and Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in LGBTQ+ and Queer Communities

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health issue including physical, sexual, and psychological violence. Much of the research to date has examined heterosexual relationship dynamics. However, sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience IPV at disproportionately high rates and little is known about bidirectional violence among SGM couples, especially in terms of victim and perpetrator roles within conflict. A survey was administered via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and 1,240 respondents answered questions about their gender, sexual identity, and IPV experiences. We used latent class analyses to determine groups based on IPV experiences, and then determined whether membership of those classes varied by gender and sexual identity. We created six cisgender groups for comparison by combining gender (male or female) and sexuality (heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual). A three-class solution emerged, and generally these classes were defined by: 1) low rates of IPV, 2) moderate IPV, predominantly victimization, and 3) high IPV, elevated perpetration. All groups, in comparison to heterosexual males, were more likely to be in class 2 (moderate IPV, predominantly victimization) compared to class 1 (low IPV). These results expand on the current literature by expanding IPV research, and our understanding of bidirectional violence, outside of a heteronormative lens.

Authors

• Colleen Ray, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Harmoni J. Noel, Booz Allen Hamilton

• Phyllis Holditch Niolon, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Ashley D'Inverno, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Megan Kearns, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Lianne Fuino Estefan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Dennis E. Reidy, Georgia State University