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%). © The Author(s) 2014.