Men's (Online) Intimate Partner Violence Experiences and Mental Health: Polyvictimization, Polyperpetration and Victim-Perpetrator Overlap

Abstract

The present study examined men's experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and associated mental health problems. Specifically, we investigated men's (poly)victimization, (poly)perpetration, and victim-perpetrator overlap experiences of physical, sexual, psychological, and cyber IPV, and associations with anxiety and depression. Data were collected via survey among a representative sample (n = 1587) in Ghent, Belgium. For this study, the sample consisted of 557 men in a romantic relationship. We found that polyvictimization (45.8%), polyperpetration (31.1%), and victim-perpetrator overlap (26.2% to 60.5%) were rather common among men who experienced partner violence. Polyvictims, polyperpetrators, as well as victim-perpetrators of psychological and cyber IPV reported the highest levels of anxiety and depression. Our findings emphasize the importance of addressing men's (accumulated) experiences of online and offline bidirectional IPV in research and practice, and to account for internalizing and externalizing expressions of mental health problems among male victims, perpetrators and victim-perpetrators of IPV.