Domestic Violence in Puerto Rican Gay Male Couples

Abstract

Domestic violence (DV) is a pattern of behaviors in the context of an intimate relationship, which can be manifested in emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. DV currently represents a social and a public health issue. This study is an effort to foster a better understanding of DV among same-sex couples. In it, the authors included the participation of 199 Puerto Rican gay males to identify prevalence of DV, violence in their family of origin, participants' addictive behaviors and exposure to violence at childhood, and their conflict resolution skills. Participants were relatively young, highly educated Puerto Rican gay men who reported a high level of domestic violence in their relationships. This violence was identified as emotional violence by 48% of the participants. This sample reported high levels of violence among their families of origin and low conflict resolution skills.

Emotional intimate partner violence experienced by men in same-sex relationships

“…The finding that emotional violence is the most common form of partner violence in male-male relationships is also consistent with existing heterosexual and same-sex violence literature (Craft and Serovich 2005, Pantalone et al 2011, Houston and McKirnan 2007, Toro-Alfonso and Rodriguez-Madera 2004, Mason et al 2014). This perception is supported by prevalence rates reported in reviews by authors Mason et al (2014) and Finneran and Stephenson (2013), who report that while emotional violence rates are high, it still remains the least often measured.…”

Intimate Partner Violence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

“…Ross, Rosser, & Neumaier, 2008; Rothenberg et al, 2000; R Stall et al, 2003; Stephenson, Khosropour, & Sullivan, 2010; P Tjaden, Thoennes, & Allison, 1999; Toro-Alfonso & RodrÍGuez-Madera, 2004; Turell, 2000; Waldner-Haugrud, Gratch, & Magruder, 1997). Sample size, age, race, location, sampling method, population inclusion criteria, and definition of violence used for each study are summarized in Table 2.…”

“…Rates of perpetration of sexual IPV also showed significant variance, ranging from 0.7% (Stephenson et al, 2010) to 27.5% (Craft & Serovich, 2005). Perpetration of psychological violence was only measured by one study (78.4% (Craft & Serovich, 2005)), and emotional violence was measured by two studies, ranging from 29.8% (Kennamer et al, 2000) to 48.0% (Toro-Alfonso & RodrÍGuez-Madera, 2004). …”

“…Furthermore, the majority of studies (57%) used urban-based samples of MSM, with the most commonly-sampled cities being New York City (eight studies), Los Angeles (five studies), and Chicago (four studies). Only four studies used sampling frames that would otherwise include non-urban MSM (Conron et al, 2010; Craft & Serovich, 2005; Rhodes et al, 2009; Toro-Alfonso & RodrÍGuez-Madera, 2004). While very few studies have been published regarding the mental or physical health of rural MSM, the existing data does suggest that rural MSM may be especially affected by stressors such as homophobia and stigma (Preston et al, 2004) and may have more difficulty accessing health services, especially HIV prevention services (Preston, D'Augelli, Cain, & Schulze, 2002).…”

The Tangled Branches (Las Ramas Enredadas)

“…In terms of violence experienced during childhood, 49% reported emotional violence, 42% physical violence, and 14% sexual violence. A relationship between childhood violence and adult violence was noted in terms of emotional violence ( X 2 = 9.150, df = 1, p < .003), physical violence ( X 2 = 5.077, df = 1, p < .025), sexual violence ( X 2 = 5.682, df = 1, p < .022), and sexual violence ( X 2 = 7.412, df = 1, p < .011) (Toro-Alfonso & Rodriguez-Madera, 2004). …”