Research article
Intimate Partner Violence Among Men: Prevalence, Chronicity, and Health Effects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.01.029Get rights and content

Context

The breadth and depth of intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by men have not been fully documented.

Objectives

To describe the prevalence, chronicity, and severity of IPV, and the health outcomes associated with IPV, in adult men with healthcare insurance.

Design

A retrospective telephone cohort study conducted from 2003 to 2005. The setting was an integrated healthcare system in Washington State and Idaho.

Participants

English-speaking men aged 18 and older (N=420) enrolled in the healthcare system for 3 or more years.

Main Outcome Measures

Physical, psychological, and sexual IPV were assessed using five questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Health was measured using the Short Form-36, version 2 (SF-36v2) survey, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the National Institute of Mental Health Presence of Symptoms Survey.

Results

Men experienced IPV at a rate of 4.6% in the past year, 10.4% in the past 5 years, and 28.8% over their lifetimes. While overall rates of physical and nonphysical IPV were similar, men aged 18–55 were twice as likely to be recently abused (14.2%, SE=2.6%) than were men aged 55 and older (5.3%, SE=1.6%). Abuse was typically nonviolent or mildly violent, occurred on multiple occasions, and was initiated by only one intimate partner. Compared to men with no IPV, older men who experienced IPV had more depressive symptoms (prevalence ratios=2.61 and 2.80 for nonphysical and physical abuse) and had lower SF-36v2 mental health subscales (range=−3.21 to −5.86).

Conclusions

Men experience IPV at moderate rates, and poor mental health outcomes are associated with such experiences.

Section snippets

Background

A substantial body of epidemiologic and health services research has focused attention on intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated against women. U.S. national surveys show that 25%–29% of women experience some form of IPV in their adult lifetimes.1, 2 More detailed population-based surveys reveal that women often experience multiple overlapping types of IPV, rate it as severe, and experience IPV over many years.3 Additionally, strong associations exist between women's experience of IPV and

Study Setting

The setting was Group Health, a nonprofit, integrated healthcare system in the northwest U.S. serving an insured population of approximately 530,000 patients. Study procedures were approved by Group Health's IRB. Analyses were conducted in 2007.

Study Design, Subject Selection, and Data Collection

A random sample of English-speaking men aged ≥18 was interviewed by telephone between December 2003 and August 2005 about their health and adult experiences with IPV. English-speaking men who had been enrolled at Group Health for at least 3 years were

Findings

A total of 1094 men meeting the eligibility criteria were sampled from the Group Health enrollment files. Sixty men were excluded because of sampling error (25), death (4), language and hearing problems (22), and severe illness (9). Of the remainder, 349 men (33.8%) refused to participate, 38 (3.7%) were located but not interviewed, and 197 (19.1%) were not able to be interviewed after eight phone attempts made at different times of the day. Informed consent was obtained to undertake telephone

Interpretation

This study provides new data on the prevalence, chronicity, severity, and health implications of IPV in men. Overall, 28.8% of adult men who were insured by a large health plan reported having experienced either physical or nonphysical IPV in their adult lifetimes. This figure is similar to the 23% estimated in a national survey that used a similar abuse definition13 but is approximately 15% lower than the 44% of women aged 18–64 insured by the same health plan who reported IPV.3 Among the men

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