Dyadic, partner, and social network characteristics, and intimate partner violence in male-male couples in Atlanta, GA

Despite a recent focus on intimate partner violence (IPV) among men who have sex with men (MSM), the male-male couple is absent from the IPV literature. Specifically, research on dyadic factors in male-male couples and their influence on IPV is lacking. A subsample of 403 gay/bisexual men with main partners (MP) was taken from a 2011 survey. Models looked at dyadic factors, including racial differences, age differences, and social network characteristics of couples. Findings suggest that men were more likely to report perpetration of physical violence if they differed from their MP on characteristics such as race (OR 0.32, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.73), whereas MP age was associated with receipt of physical violence (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.88, 0.99). These dyadic differences within male-male couples may indicate a unique source of IPV risk for MSM with MPs.