Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Sexual Minority Young Adults: Associations With Alcohol Use, PTSD Symptoms, Internalized Homophobia, and Heterosexist Discrimination

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual minority (LGBQ+) young adults report similar or higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration than their heterosexual peers. Elevated IPV risk among LGBQ+ young adults may be attributable to experiencing heterosexist discrimination and internalized homophobia. In addition, LGBQ+ people report disproportionate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration in dating relationships. Thus, this study explored which combinations of IPV risk factors (i.e., experiencing heterosexist discrimination, internalized homophobia, PTSD symptoms, alcohol use) related to forms of IPV perpetration, inclusive of psychological, physical, and sexual forms, in a sample of 342 LGBQ+ young adults. Internalized homophobia was related to psychological IPV perpetration at high and medium levels of PTSD symptoms and only high levels of alcohol use. PTSD symptoms and alcohol use interacted to predict psychological IPV perpetration; and PTSD symptoms related to increased psychological IPV perpetration at high and medium, but not low, alcohol use levels. Alcohol use was positively related to physical IPV perpetration. No other risk factors or interactions were significantly related to physical or sexual IPV perpetration. Results were consistent with prior findings that linked internalized homophobia, alcohol use, and PTSD symptoms to IPV perpetration and highlight the interacting nature of these IPV perpetration risk factors. Comprehensive IPV interventions with LGBQ+ young adults should evaluate the impact of simultaneously targeting these multiple IPV risk factors considering their interacting contributions to IPV perpetration risk. More research is needed to examine the temporal relations between minority stress, PTSD symptoms, alcohol use, and IPV perpetration.

Intimate partner violence is related to future alcohol use among a nationwide sample of LGBTQIA+ people: Results from The PRIDE Study

“…However, despite LGBTQIA+ people having both high rates of alcohol use and IPV, little research has investigated the temporal relationship between IPV and alcohol use in this population. IPV is often found to be associated with alcohol use in specific LGBTQIA+ subgroups (e.g., cisgender men who have sex with men, cisgender women who have sex with women women) (Basting et al, 2023;Davis et al, 2016;Kimmes et al, 2019;King et al, 2022), but current knowledge of the role that IPV plays in alcohol use among LGBTQIA+ people is limited by cross-sectional designs and a preponderance of evidence focusing on cisgender men who have sex with men (Kim & Schmuhl, 2021;Porsch et al, 2022). This precludes researchers from drawing causal inferences and, perhaps more importantly, developing effective evidenceinformed interventions for alcohol use for LGBTQIA+ communities that are inclusive of their relationship experiences.…”