Coping styles used by sexual minority men who experience intimate partner violence.
Lisa D Goldberg-Looney, Paul B Perrin, Daniel J Snipes and 1 others
PMID 27192150WHAT IT FOUND
Sexual minority men reporting intimate partner violence, especially injury or sexual abuse, used less planning and more religious coping.
They did not increase social support use. Clinicians should screen for IPV in this group, as rates were high.
Key findings
01Participants reporting IPV resulting in injury were more likely to use religious coping but less likely to use planning coping.
02Sexual minority men who were targets of intimate partner sexual victimization or IPV resulting in injury tended to engage in increased behavioral disengagement coping.
03Rates of IPV victimization in this sample were higher than national estimates for women, with 34.8% reporting sexual abuse and 28.1% reporting injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (n=89), limiting generalizability. Participants reported their general coping styles, not specifically how they coped with IPV, which may not reflect the actual strategies used during violent episodes. The cross-sectional survey design cannot establish causality between IPV severity and coping styles. Recruitment via online LGBT groups may have introduced selection bias toward men who are out or connected to community resources.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that sexual minority men who experience IPV will naturally seek social support or engage in safety planning. The study found that injury from IPV was associated with decreased planning coping and no increase in social support use, contrary to patterns often seen in female populations.