Nonintimate Polyvictimization and the Severity of Intimate Partner Violence Experienced by Men.

Abstract

There is a dearth of research on the relation of men's cumulative experiences of nonintimate victimization (polyvictimization) to their victimization in intimate relationships. This study examines the association between nonintimate polyvictimization (including being abused as a child, cyberbullied, stalked, physically assaulted, and experiencing property crime) and the severity of intimate partner violence victimization in men. The sample of 8,784 men in current married/common-law relationships was drawn from a random sample of the 2014 Canadian General Social Survey. About 3% of the men (an estimate of about 265,000 men in Canada) experienced the most severe forms of partner abuse, including the combination of emotional abuse and controlling behaviors, physical violence, and the resulted injuries. Among these severely abused men, about one-third were polyvictims. As expected, a nonintimate polyvictimization predicted the increased severity of male partner abuse victimization, controlling for sociodemographic variables. These findings highlight the importance of preventing nonintimate polyvictimization of men that can help reduce their partner violence victimization.