Sexual Orientation Disparities in Experiences of Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence: A Focus on the Preconception and Perinatal Period

Citation

Everett, B. G.; Jenkins, V.; & Hughes, T. L. (2022). Sexual Orientation Disparities in Experiences of Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence: A Focus on the Preconception and Perinatal Period. Womens Health Issues. , PMCID: PMC9167209

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Compared with their heterosexual counterparts, sexual minority women (SMW), especially those with male partners, are at increased risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV has been linked to a variety of adverse maternal, infant, and child health outcomes. However, to date, no research has examined SMW's experiences of IPV in the context of pregnancy. This study explored whether SMW were more likely than exclusively heterosexual women with only male sexual partners (WSM) to report a variety of forms of IPV perpetrated by their male partner before or during pregnancy. METHODS: Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Our sample size ranged from 10,081 to 10,328 pregnancies, matched with their male pregnancy partner, reported by 3,828 to 3,873 women. RESULTS: Logistic regression results indicated that compared with heterosexual-WSM, mostly heterosexual women and heterosexual-women who have sex with women (WSW) were more likely to report any IPV, mostly heterosexual women were more likely to report an IPV-related injury, and heterosexual-WSW were more likely to report sexual assault. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that mostly heterosexual and heterosexual-WSW are at increased risk of experiencing multiple forms of IPV with their male pregnancy partners, highlighting the need for additional screening and prevention efforts to reduce IPV and its negative sequelae.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2022.01.002

Notes

1878-4321

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Womens Health Issues

Author(s)

Everett, B. G.
Jenkins, V.
Hughes, T. L.

Year Published

2022

Edition

2022/03/06

ISSN/ISBN

1049-3867

DOI

10.1016/j.whi.2022.01.002

PMCID

PMC9167209

Reference ID

9646