Men's perceptions of why they stay in intimate partner violent heterosexual relationships: A systematic review

Abstract

Literature highlights that intimate partner violence is a social problem. Although there is a gender asymmetry regarding the prevalence of intimate partner violence (i.e., women as the majority of victims), the global statistics point to a considerable number of men who are victims of violence in heterosexual relationships. Although the negative impact of these victimization experiences is known, the specificities of intimate partner violence against men victims are not. Therefore, this systematic review aims to: 1) identify and systematize empirical evidence about heterosexual men's reasons for staying in violent intimate partner relationships; 2) explore, evaluate and critically discuss the results and limitations of the selected articles. This systematic review was carried out in Web of Science, PsycINFO and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, since 1970 until 2020. The method used was PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analysis), with the following research equation: “battered men OR husband syndrome AND reasons to stay*”.Results revealed that the reasons to stay of heterosexual men are similar to heterosexual women's and men who are in same sex relationships, highlighting: concern for their children, parenting and fear of losing contact; commitment to the relationship and psychological dependence. The results also emphasizes that there are specificities related to the male role in society that prevent men from leaving their relationships, as well as reasons that are not found in the literature, such as guilt, family pressure, fear of not being believed and threats of suicide by their partner. Finally, these results stressed that there is a clear need of an inclusive approach of IPV and a deconstruction of the myths and social stereotypes associated with the male ideals, both in society and with frontline professionals, in order to contribute to more appropriate intervention and political practices.