Summary Table of Studies to Be Available Online Insert Hyperlink

Supplemental Materials

Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual Minority Populations: A Critical Review of the Literature and Agenda for Future Research

by K. M. Edwards et al., 2015, Psychology of Violence

Summary table of studies to be available online {insert hyperlink}:

Reference / Sample / Sexual Orientation Measure / IPV Measure / Results / Relevant Section(s)
Alhusen, Lucea, & Glass (2010) / 47 female survivors of same-sex IPV / Not reported / Self-reporting victimization of same-sex IPV (physical or sexual IPV or threat of physical or sexual IPV) – had to be victimized to participate / -Emerging themes from qualitative interviews consisted of system incompetence (e.g., “laughing it off”) and reinforced marginalization (e.g., “we are beyond second class), and compounding abuse (e.g., “if you can’t protect us, at least don’t abuse us”) / -Disclosure and help-seeking
Andrasik, Valentine, & Pantalone (2013) / 28 HIV-positive MSM receiving care at an outpatient urban HIV clinic / Participants rated sexual behaviors with and attraction to men and women on a 7-point scale / IPV victimization from over 1 year ago investigated, as identified by either providers or a research nurse recruiter / -Early experiences of abuse related to the vulnerability to IPV victimization
-Normalization of abuse in families and relationships
-67% described a pattern cycling between substance abuse and IPV / -IPV VIC correlates
-IPV Characteristics
-Perceptions
Baker, Pearcey, & Dabbs (2002) / 54 lesbian campers at either a women’s campground or
spectators at a gay pride celebration / Not reported / CTS completed regarding behaviors both under and not under the influence of alcohol, regarding the participant and her current partner’s use of IPV / -Results reported overall (i.e., not broken down by perpetrator/victim)
-Lesbians low in testosterone used more IPV when drinking than when they were sober, while there was no difference between IPV used when drinking or sober for lesbians high in testosterone / -IPV VIC correlates
-IPV PERP correlates
Balsam et al. (2005) / 557 LG, 163 bisexual, and 525 heterosexual adults / Participants self-rated sexual orientation / Lifetime and past year IPV psychological victimization measured by the PMWI & lifetime and past year physical IPV victimization measured by the CTS2 / -Compared with heterosexual participants, LGB participants reported more psychological and physical IIPV victimization
-Only provided means for psychological, all of which was higher among LGB men and women compared to heterosexual men and women.
-Physical lifetime and past year prevalence rates: heterosexual men (37.2-43.0%), bisexual men (41.7-47.0%), gay men (26.9%-38.8%), heterosexual women (27.4-39), bisexual women (20-49.2%), lesbian (23.2-47.5%). / -Rates (comparative)
Balsam & Szymanski (2005) / 272 lesbian and bisexual women / Not reported / CTSR referring to own and partner IPV within the past year to female partners only; also asked to indicate whether each item occurred in any intimate relationship with a woman since the age of 18 / -40% reported they had been physically or sexually violent to a partner
-44% reported they had been the victim of physical or sexual violence by a partner
-31% reported IPV both perpetration and victimization within their life;
-10% reported only victimization in their life; 7% reported only perpetration
-Bisexual women more likely to report LGB-specific aggression against a female partner in the past year than lesbians.
-Lesbians reported more lifetime psychological aggression against a female partner than bisexual women
-Internalized homophobia correlated with lifetime victimization of physical/sexual IPV; approached significance for lifetime perpetration of physical/sexual IPV
-Lifetime discrimination not related to LGB-specific perpetration and victimization
-Race and education significantly associated with perpetration and victimization, with women of color and less educated reporting more IPV victimization and perpetration
-Lifetime discrimination strongest predictor of psychological IPV perpetration and victimization
-Internalized homophobia associated with perpetration and victimization of physical/sexual IPV in past year
-Lifetime discrimination, past-year discrimination, not correlated with recent IPV
-Relationship quality strongly negatively correlated with IPV perpetration and victimization
-Relationship between internalized homophobia and past-year IPV was fully mediated by relationship quality. / -Rates (including comparative)
-IPV VIC correlates
-IPV PERP correlates
Barrett & St. Pierre (2013) / 186 gay, lesbian, or bisexual Canadians taken from the 23,766 individuals who completed the 2004 General Social Survey of Canada (GSS) / Not reported / Modified version of 10 items from the CTS used to measure physical and sexual victimization separately about current and former partners
-Emotional and financial aspects of IPV measured using 7 items created for the study / -36% reported experiencing at least 1 instance of any form of IPV victimization: 34.9% emotional and/or financial abuse, 20.4% physical and/or sexual IPV
-Bisexuals more likely than lesbians or gay men to experience any IPV victimization, as well as more likely to experience injuries as a result of IPV
-Bisexual women reported most incidents of IPV against them, followed by lesbian women, bisexual males, then gay males
-Among those who had experiencing any physical IPV, 18.4% reported that they had feared for their lives, and more than one-third experienced injuries
-Victims were significantly younger than non-victims
-People who did not have a partner in their household more likely to have been victimized than those with a marital or common-law partner
-More education related to less IPV victimization
-Physical or mental limitation related to more IPV victimization (any form)
-Discrimination not significantly related to any form of IPV / -Rates (including comparative)
-IPV VIC Correlates
-IPV VIC Outcomes
Bartholomew, Regan, Oram, & White (2008) / 186 (94% gay, 6% bisexual) men with same-sex relationship experience taken from a larger telephone survey / Sexual preference or orientation - only gay and bisexual men continued / Modified CTS assessed lifetime and past 12 months physical and psychological IPV perpetration and victimization / -Income negatively related to physical IPV perpetration and victimization
-Education negatively related to physical and psychological IPV perpetration and victimization
-Mother violence predicted any IPV (and accounted for family violence effect on IPV)
-Substance use related to perpetration
-Attachment anxiety related to physical IPV perpetration and victimization and psychological perpetration.
-Attachment avoidance not related to IPV
-HIV status not related to physical IPV, but HIV-positive men more likely to perpetrate and be victimized psychologically than non-HIV positive men.
-Outness related to physical and psychological IPV victimization
-Internalized homophobia related to physical and psychological IPV perpetration / -IPV VIC Correlates
-IPV PERP Correlates
Bartholomew, Regan, White, & Oram (2008) / 284 men (93% gay, 7% bisexual) taken from a larger 1,176 telephone sample / Not reported / Modified CTS2 focused on physical, psychological, and sexual perpetration and victimization ever, as well as within the past 12 months, and if in current relationship / -41% reported being the victim and 35% being the perpetrator of at least one act of physical IPV in their lifetime
-12% reported physical victimization and perpetration within the past year
-10% reported physical victimization and 11% reported physical perpetration with their current partner
-94% reported being victimized and 96% reported perpetrating psychologically in the past
-64% reported being a victim or perpetrator of psychological IPV within the past year
-37% reported being a victim or perpetrator of psychological IPV with their current partner
-12% reported being victimized sexually in the past, few reported such within the past year or with their current partner
-2 men reported perpetrating sexual IPV in the past, and no one indicated sexual IPV perpetration within the past year or with their current partner
-Bidirectionality significant for physical and psychological IPV, with perpetration and victimization highly correlated (not tested for sexual IPV)
-Of those reporting victimization, 17-18% sustained severe injuries, 13-18% needed to seek medical treatment / -Rates
-IPV Characteristics
-IPV VIC Outcomes
Bimbi, Palmadessa, & Parsons (2007) / 652 gay men and 396 lesbians sampled from the Gay Life Expo and the Gay Business / Self-identified; asked to indicate their sexual identity / Measure of different types of physical and non-physical IPV victimization on a yes/no scale (Greenwood et al., 2002) / -Any IPV reported by 38.1% of sample (22.0% reported physical IPV; 34.3% non-physical)
-Women 1.5 times more likely to experience physical IPV
-Men and women report similar rates of non-physical IPV
-Substance abuse more likely for those who experience any IPV, with types of drugs used varying across sex and type of IPV experienced / -Rates (including comparative)
-IPV VIC Correlates
Blosnich & Bossarte (2009) / Respondents to IPV victimization module of a larger survey 2005-2007 (N = 7998) / Same-sex couples were identified by matching the respondent’s sex with the identified sex of the IPV perpetrator / Researcher created measure of IPV victimization that included lifetime verbal abuse, physical violence, and unwanted sexual intercourse / -Male victims of same-sex IPV reported more verbal abuse than male victims of opposite-sex IPV but did not differ regarding physical abuse or sexual abuse
-Female victims of same-sex IPV and opposite-sex IPV did not differ by type of IPV
-No overall differences in health and quality-of-life outcomes between same-sex and opposite-sex IPV victims / -Rates (including comparative)
-IPV VIC Outcomes
Blosnich & Bossarte (2012) / 11,046 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual participants 18-24 / “Which of the following best describes you?
Heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual, unsure” / Researcher created: Being in an emotionally, physically, or sexually abusive relationship in the last 12 months / -Sexual minorities reported significantly more general IPV than heterosexuals (10.4% heterosexual, 19.6% bisexual, 15.5% gay/lesbian) / -Rates (including comparative)
Bogart, Collins, Cunningham, Beckman, Golinelli, Eisenman, & Bird (2005) / 286 women (sexual orientation unspecified), 148 heterosexual men, and
292 gay/bisexual men who were HIV-positive / Self-reported gender and sexual identity, creating three groups: women (sexual orientation unspecified), heterosexual men, and gay/bisexual men (GBM) / Researcher created eight items regarding abusive behaviors (consisting of physical and sexual items), as well as asking how much each occurred in the last 6 months, asked separately for perpetration and victimization / -Women (24.9%) and heterosexual men (23.2%) more likely to perpetrate any IPV than GBM (16.3%)
-Women (49%) and GBM (54%) reporting perpetration were more likely to report having unprotected sex over the past 6 months than non-perpetrators (36% and 33%, respectively)
-Perpetrators engaging in substance use during sex were almost twice as likely to have unprotected sex than non-perpetrating substance users (57% vs. 33%) / -Rates
-IPV PERP Correlates
Bornstein, Fawcett, Sullivan, Senturia, & Shiu-Thornton (2006) / 22 women (69.2% lesbian; 30.7% bisexual), consisting of women (76.9%) and trans (23%) / Self-identified as lesbian, bisexual and/or trans / Participants were currently experiencing or previously experienced abuse by an intimate partner / -Participants reported awareness of IPV in the “queer” community was limited
-IPV minimized in community, services unable to handle serve non-heterosexual IPV
-Participants report not having enough information about IPV in queer relationships, as well as information about healthy queer relationships
-Participants reported only willing to go to queer-specific support
-Few reported using law enforcement out of belief that they wouldn’t understand or treat them/their partner the same as if they were not queer
-No one reported using IPV shelters, many stating that it was because of their queer identity
-Many reported using therapists/counselors, and most report them as negative experiences / -Disclosure and help-seeking
-Perceptions
Brown (2007) / 5 women who have experienced IPV in their relationships with trans men (taken from a larger sample of 20 women) / Not reported / Measure not reported; victimization investigated / -Participants reported a tendency to not recognize or minimize abuse because of the contradiction between their partner being constantly oppressed and the chance that they could also be abusive
-No one involved police, their families, friends, or therapists until relationships ended / -Disclosure and help-seeking
-Perceptions
Burke, Jordan, & Owen (2002) / 24 gay men and 11 lesbian women / Not reported / Items measuring threat, physical IPV, psychological IPV, and sexual IPV victimization created for the study / -Most common forms of domestic violence were verbal harassment and prohibiting social contact (40.28%)
-Most report not being victimized, with % reporting only being hit once or twice and 23% reporting being assaulted 3+ times
-Those who were threatened were more likely to experience all other forms of IPV (except withholding items)
-34.29% reported receiving information from any source about same-sex violence
-29.73% reported believing that a distrust of law enforcement would discourage them from reporting an incident of IPV, and 40% would refrain from reporting due to a lack of confidence in the courts
-25.71% reported their local police department was biased against homosexuality / -Rates
-IPV Characteristics
-Disclosure and help-seeking
Buttar, Clements-Nolle, Haas, & Reese (2013) / 305 (82 lesbian and bisexual, 221 heterosexual) adolescents 13-17 years old on probation or supervised diversion / Self-identification / Two questions (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey; Cavazos-Rehg
et al., 2009) used to measure physical and sexual IPV victimization / -52.44% of lesbians/bisexuals report being victimized at some point by a partner, compared to 36.2% of heterosexuals
-Those experiencing IPV were more likely to self-identify as lesbian or bisexual (35% compared to 22% heterosexual) / -Rates
Carvalho, Lewis, Derlega, Winstead, & Viggiano (2011) / 581 gay men and lesbians / Self-identification / Lifetime IPV victimization and perpetration were measured by asking if they had ever been a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence (researcher-created) / -25% of lesbians reported victimization; 9.3% reported perpetration; 9% indicated both
-23% of gay men reported victimization; 8.3% reported perpetration; 7% indicated both
-Participants reporting victimization reported being more “out” and more stigma consciousness
-Those higher in stigma consciousness were almost twice as likely to perpetrate / -Rates
-IPV VIC Correlates
-IPV PERP Correlates
Chan & Cavacuiti (2008) / 32 gay male patients from a primary care facility who were currently in a relationship of at least 6 months / Self-identification / Gay Abuse Screening Protocol (GASP) indicating IPV victimization (psychological, physical, and sexual IPV) / -31.3% reported any victimization as something that occurs “sometimes” or “often”
-12.5% reported physical IPV “sometimes”
-28.2% reported psychological abuse either “sometimes “ or “often” / -Rates
-IPV Characteristics
Coleman (2003) / 2 lesbian women who sought therapy for IPV perpetration / Not reported / Not reported / -Case examples demonstrate the role of borderline personality disorder, and specifically attachment style, affect regulation, shame, and pathological vindictiveness, in the perpetration of IPV.
-Psychoanalytic couples therapy can be effective in working with lesbians with IPV. / -Treatment
Craft & Serovich (2005) / 51 HIV positive men in a relationship with another man currently or within the past year / Not reported / Physical, psychological, and sexual IPV perpetration and victimization measured by CTS2, with timeframe not reported / -Psychological IPV most common (78.4% reported perpetration, 72.5% reported victimization)
-45.1% reported victimization of physical IPV; 39.2% reported perpetration
-33.3% reported victimization of sexual IPV; 27.5% reported perpetration
-25.5% reported causing injury to their partners; 23.5% reported suffering injuries
-Witnessing mother to father violence during childhood related to being a perpetrator and/or victim of sexual IPV and receiving injury; no significant relationship between witnessing father to mother violence found
-Being a victim of parental abuse related to perpetrating physical and sexual IPV, as well as being a victim of sexual IPV / -Rates
-IPV VIC Correlates
-IPV PERP Correlates
-IPV VIC Outcomes
Craft, Serovich, McKenry, & Ji-Young (2008) / 87 perpetrators of IPV (46 gay men and 41 lesbians) / Self-identification / Physical, psychological, and sexual IPV perpetration within the past year as measured by the CTS2 / -Psychological IPV most commonly reported (97.6% of lesbians; 93.5% of gay men)
-Perceived stress and insecure attachment related to IPV perpetration / -Rates
-IPV PERP Correlates
Cruz (2003) / 25 gay and bisexual men / Self-report as having been in a gay relationship / Experience in a gay relationship in which IPV was present required for inclusion in study (perpetration and victimization) / Amount of time spent in abusive relationship ranged from 10 months to 10 years (M = 3 years, 10 months)
14 categories emerged for why people stayed in abusive relationship: financial dependence, inexperience, love, hope it would change, loneliness, commitment, emotional dependence, being enabled by the cycle of aggression, fear, guilt, low self-esteem, physical attraction, physical dependence, and feeling trapped / -Stay/Leave
Cruz & Peralta (2001) / 25 gay men / Self-reported as “gay” / Experience in a gay relationship in which IPV was present required for inclusion in study (perpetration and victimization) / -13 of the 25 men (52%) reported alcohol as a precipitating factor;
-3 reported alcohol or drugs are a result of IPV (e.g., coping mechanism)
-1 man reported his partner being violent regardless of drugs/alcohol / -IPV VIC Correlates
-IPV PERP Correlates
Dank, Lachman, Zweig, Yahner (2013) / 5,647, youth with 3,745 currently in romantic relationships (229 LGB, 3,475 heterosexual; 18 transgender) / “Of the following, which do you primarily identify as? Heterosexual/straight, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Questioning, Queer, Other” and “What is your gender? Male, Female, Transgender / Gender-queer” / Questions covered physical IPV, (Foshee, 1996) psychological IPV, (Michigan Department of Community Health’s,1997 control and fear scales) cyber IPV (Griezel, 2007; Picard 2007), and sexual IPV (Foshee, 1996; Zweig et al., 2002) regarding perpetration and victimization with their current or most recent partner / -LGB youth showed higher rates of all types of dating victimization and perpetration experiences, compared to heterosexual youth
-Higher percentages of LGB youth reported victimization of physical IPV (43%), psychological IPV (59%), cyber IPV (37%), and sexual IPV (23%) than heterosexual youth at 29%, 46%, 26%, and 12%