Various types of intimate partner violence (IPV) are common among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults. And there are clear associations between IPV and different addictive behavior and mental health problems.
This is according to a study – “Intimate Partner Violence Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Hong Kong” by Elsie Yan, Iris Po Yee Lo, Rongwei Sun, Alex Siu Wing Chan, Haze Ka Lai Ng, and Anise Wu – that was published in LGBT Health.
For this study, a total of 759 LGB adults completed an online cross-sectional survey between November 2021 and February 2022. Data on past-year IPV and LGB-specific tactics (whether perpetrated or experienced by participants), addictive behavior, anxiety, depression, and demographics were collected and analyzed with descriptive statistics and logistic regressions.
The researchers found:
- Psychological aggression was the most common type of IPV within an LGB relationship (22.1%), followed by physical assault (10.8%) and IPV-related injury (4.1%).
- LGB-specific tactics were experienced by 39.0% of the LGB adults.
- Depression, anxiety, and frequent gambling were significantly associated with specific types of IPV and LGB-specific tactics.
It is worth stressing that “IPV (is) prevalent in the LGB population,” stressed the researchers.
As such, “the high prevalence of IPV and LGB-specific tactics warrants immediate attention and appropriate actions to support LGB IPV perpetrators and survivors. The findings that depression, anxiety, and frequent gambling were associated with different types of IPV among LGB adults provide valuable insights for the development of LGB IPV detection and intervention in the future.”
