Prevalence of Substance Use and Intimate Partner Violence in a Sample of A/PI MSM

Abstract

This study evaluates the prevalence of three forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) (i.e., experience of physical, psychological/symbolic, and sexual battering) among a national sample of Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States and identifies their characteristics. The study also reports the differences of substance use behavior between MSM with and without a previous history of IPV. Our sample was recruited through venue-based sampling from seven metropolitan cities as part of the national Men of Asia Testing for HIV (MATH) study. Among 412 MSM, 29.1% experienced IPV perpetrated from a boyfriend or same-gender partner in the past 5 years. Within the previous 5 years, 62.5%, 78.3%, and 40.8% of participants experienced physical, psychological/symbolic, and sexual battering, respectively. Collectively, 35.8% of participants reported that they have experienced at least one type of victimization and 64.2% have experienced multiple victimizations (two or three types of battering victimization). Overall, 21.2% of our sample reported any substance use within the past 12 months. The present findings suggest that individuals with a history of IPV in the past 5 years were more likely to report substance use (33.6%) compared to those without a history of IPV experience (16.1%).

MSM HIV testing following an online testing intervention in China

“…In our study, 29% (74 out of 257) of never-tested men at follow-up had experienced IPV. We found that several types of IPV were positively associated with post-intervention testing, which was consistent with a previous study in the U.S. showing similar associations [25]. They were also positively associated with HIV diagnosis [17].…”

A Study of Intimate Partner Violence, Substance Abuse, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in a Sample of Geosocial-Networking Smartphone Application Users

“…Houston and McKirnan (2007) noted that abused men in the Chicago area were more likely to report frequent use of substances before or during sex. Other studies identified a relationship between IPV and drug use in other samples of MSM (Bimbi et al, 2008;Hughes et al, 2010;Klitzman et al, 2014;Koblin et al, 2006;Nieves-Rosa, Carballo-Dieguez, & Dolezal, 2000;Tran et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2015).…”

“…While few studies have examined relationships between experiences of IPV and health behaviors among MSM, there is evidence that supports a relationship between experiences of IPV and the increased use of a variety of substances (Bimbi, Palmadessa, & Parsons, 2008; Finneran & Stephenson, 2013; Hughes, McCabe, Wilsnack, West, & Boyd, 2010; Klitzman, Pope, & Hudson, 2014; Stults, Javdani, Greenbaum, Kapadia, & Halkitis, 2015; Tran et al, 2014; Wu et al, 2015). Welles, Corbin, Rich, Reed, and Raj (2011), for example, reported that MSM experiencing IPV as a victim were more likely to have consumed alcohol to intoxication in the preceding month.…”

Depressive Symptoms, Substance Use and Partner Violence Victimization Associated with HIV Disclosure Among Men Who have Sex with Men

“…However, the same study found that cocaine use was statistically significantly associated with lifetime partner violence but not partner violence in the past month. Tran et al found that substance use, including ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine use, was also linked to partner violence among Asian/Pacific Islander MSM [49]. The lack of statistically significant associations between substance use as a binary variable and disclosure-associated partner violence could have been due to the small cell sizes as a result of the small number of participants reporting verbal and/or physical abuse associated with disclosure in the past 30 days.…”