Dating Violence Among Sexual Minority Youth at University of Massachusetts Amherst
This study by Dr. Tameka L. Gillum examines dating violence among sexual minority youth at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The research delves into the prevalence, impact, and factors contributing to such violence in this demographic.
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DATING VIOLENCE AMONG SEXUAL MINORITY YOUTH Dr. Tameka L. Gillum University of Massachusetts Amherst
Talk Objectives Define intimate partner violence (IPV) and dating violence Review the health consequences of IPV and dating violence Voices of queer youth Mental health consequences Conclusions
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)/Dating Violence (DV) IPV abuse that occurs between two people in a close relationship (current or former spouses and dating partners) that may be physical, sexual, threats, or emotional (CDC, 2012) DV a form of IPV (CDC, 2012) generally refers to teens and young adults Sexual minority youth youth who self identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning
IPV Prevalence Lifetime prevalence of IPV among adults generally 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men (Black and colleagues, 2010) Same-sex IPV rates are generally found to be comparable to rates between heterosexual couples (Renner & Whitney, 2010)
Victims of IPV Experience Increased injury chronic pain gastrointestinal problems gynecological problems sexually-transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS) mortality disability reproductive disorders irritable bowel syndrome poor pregnancy outcomes substance abuse problems depression post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) heart and circulatory conditions worse overall general health
American Youth & Dating Violence Prevalence high among American youth Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) estimate prevalence rates of victimization at approximately 10% (Eaton et al., 2006; Eaton et al, 2007; Howard et al., 2007) Community-based assessments have found prevalence rates for perpetration and victimization as high as 18-67% (Rothman et al., 2010; West & Rose, 2000)
Sexual Minority Youth & Dating Violence Massachusetts YRBS (35% vs. 8%) (Mass Department of Education, 2006) National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (NLSAH), nearly 25% (Halpern and colleagues, 2004) NYC YRBS, youth who identified as having both same and opposite sex partners were more likely to have experienced past year dating violence and forced sex that those reporting only opposite sex partners (Pathela & Schillinger, 2010)
Sexual Minority Youth & Dating Violence Results of an community-based assessment of sexual minority youth, aged 13 22 indicated that: 45% of the gay male youth 57% of bisexual male youth 44% of lesbian youth, and 38% of bisexual female youth surveyed had experienced such abuse (Freedner et al, 2002)
Dating Violence Has Been Linked To substance abuse problems suicidal ideology increased depression eating disorders poor educational outcomes sleep disturbances sexually transmitted infections emotional distress unplanned pregnancies feelings of hopelessness
Teen dating violence has been linked with Early sexual activity Increased rates of unprotected sex/inconsistent condom use Increased rates of alcohol & drug use Greater number of lifetime sexual partners Increased risk of victimization during young adulthood
Sexual Minority Youth & Dating Violence These problems are compounded in populations already at increased risk for negative mental and physical health outcomes as a result of hate crimes and the social stigma borne of societal homophobia (Follins, 2011; Marrow, 2004; Meyer, 2003) Such traumas are even worse for LGBTQ persons of color, who too often face the assaults and insults of racism as well (Carballo-Dieguez et al., 2005; Follins, 2011; Miller, 2007; Miller, 2011; Ryan, et al., 2009; Sandfort, Melendez, & Diaz, 2007)
Sexual Minority Youth & Dating Violence Efforts to assess dating violence among this population have been limited but reveal sexual minority youth at increased risk (Dank et al., 2013; Freedner et al., 2002; Gillum & DiFulvio, 2014; Halpern et al., 2004; Mass Department of Education, 2006; Pathela & Schillinger, 2010) Though these studies suggest prevalence rates, little is known about the nature and manifestation of such violence among this population
Objectives 1) To explore the issue of dating violence (past and current) in a sample of college aged sexual minority youth 2) To assess whether experiences of dating violence (DV) are associated with poor mental and/or physical health outcomes among this population 3) To determine whether experiences of dating violence as an adolescent are correlated with experiences of DV as a college student among this population
Objectives 1) To explore the issue of dating violence (past and current) in a sample of college aged sexual minority youth 2) To assess whether experiences of dating violence (DV) are associated with poor mental and/or physical health outcomes among this population 3) To determine whether experiences of dating violence as an adolescent are correlated with experiences of DV as a college student among this population
Sample 109 participants 18-24 years, mean = 20 63 female, 37 male, 4 FTM, 3 Gender Queer, 1 other, 1 Non-gender Conforming 76% White, 6% African American, 6% Asian American, 4% Latino, 8% other (mixed race, Cape Verdean, Middle Eastern, Armenian, Israeli) 25% lesbian, 32% gay, 26% bisexual, 4% questioning, 13% other (queer, pansexual, non- orientation conforming)
Sample 48% single 38% dating/in a relationship with a member of the same gender 12% dating/in a relationship with a member of the opposite gender (including trans) 2% in a relationship with both
Focus Group Sample 18 participants (2 groups: 1 female, 1 male) 19-23 years, mean = 20 11 female, 7 male 89% White, 11% African American 17% lesbian, 33% gay, 22% bisexual, 17% questioning, (questioning, queer, pansexual, non-orientation conforming)
Perceived Same-Sex DV Prevalence I think there s more potential for it to happen because you re at the same physical level and so that if a girl hits a guy that will be the end of it and like it will be resolved, but if a girl hits a girl, you may be going at it for a while. Like you re going to hit her right back Or if a guy hits you, you might be afraid to hit him back and you might get out of the situation, but it can just snowball into something so physically after. Like the first punch is thrown so you re just like you know what, you re the same size and I m going to kick your ass. (female participant)
Perceived Same-Sex DV Prevalence I just think it is more common that gay men could be, or not just necessarily gay men but like homosexual couples could be in more violent situations than heterosexual. There s so much at stake with coming out and keeping a lot of stuff in. (male participant)
Prevalence Rates Adolescent physical victimization, 58% (youngest age, 12 years) Adolescent physical perpetration, 41% (youngest age, 13 years) Current physical victimization, 60% Current physical perpetration, 50%
Prevalence Rates Adolescent psychological victimization, 86% (youngest age, 12 years) Adolescent psychological perpetration, 88% (youngest age, 12 years) Current psychological victimization, 81% Current psychological perpetration, 83%
Reasons for Dating Violence Four main themes emerged: Homophobia Societal Internalized Negotiating socially prescribed gender roles Assumed female connection Other relationship issues
Societal Homophobia And it s seen as more of a problem, I think the man hits his wife then if two fags are beating each other or two dykes are going at it, whatever, who cares. Crazy gays. If a man beats his wife, it s like, whoa abuse. (female participant) I didn t even realize how bad the abuse was until I was out of the relationship and I looked back on it and I m like oh my god, did I really let someone talk to me like that? (female participant)
Societal Homophobia I ve heard of people saying I m afraid to go to the police or the authorities or whoever s in charge because they won t be sympathetic because it s a gay relationship or they won t understand, or they ll ridicule me or they feel this is something that I need to keep under wraps because [even if] the person is out, they might not want that kind of scrutiny. (male participant)
Societal Homophobia it s not made visible it [dating violence] happens so often because it s not really culturally okay yet to be gay (female participant) [In] a closeted relationship, the prospect of fear really makes it even worse It s a fear of that parents will find out, that they ll be moved out of the house, that they ll be cut off from financial funding, all of these issues go together. (female participant)
Societal Homophobia until the government allows gay people to serve openly in the military, until gay people are allowed to marry in the United States, you re never going to be considered equal and that goes all the way down to physical violence. Your physically violent relationship is not the equal of a heterosexual physically violent relationship. (male participant)
Internalized Homophobia I think [dating violence] has lots to do with the internalization of how you feel about being in that relationship and especially like how comfortable you are with your own gender, your own body, and I think people can have a lot of resentment towards themselves, towards their bodies, and towards their identities and especially like for me, being in a lot of straight relationships in [those] relationships, any violence that I exhibited towards the guy has always been my resentment towards him for not being able to express like a huge part of myself, which is like having feelings for girls. There s always having feelings for girls and the part of me that can t express [that] and that s definitely led to violence in [those relationships]. Like not knowing what you think or not always being okay with the relationship that you re having. (female participant)
Internalized Homophobia I think dealing with pressures because I don t think one person in a relationship is comfortable and the other person is not can create a lot of issues. I see that a lot. (female participant)
Internalized Homophobia She was like, I want to wear ties. I was looking at her like, I m not going outside with you wearing ties. For the longest time I couldn t understand, I was so angry with her and it was just because I m bisexual and already I don t want to be seen as other. I m already other, like in the community, period but, I have the pleasure of being able to not have my gayness be so [obvious]. You just don t see it. It doesn t come across at all I guess and I was comfortable with that, but if I m walking down the street with her and she has a tie on and we re walking together it just turned into a very disgusting argument, very disgusting time. (female participant)
Negotiating socially prescribed gender roles I think a lot of people think that you can t be dominant without being either verbally abusive or like readily make it known that you re the dominant one in the relationship between two girls. (female participant)
Negotiating socially prescribed gender roles my girlfriend originally identified as gender queer. So like for the first year or so we were together, we re both sort of like femmy or whatever and all of a sudden, she s like presenting really masculine and she passes as a guy all the time and I like just got okay, like completely with I m with a woman, ya da ya da, the whole gay thing and like now when people see me they re like oh straight, heterosexual and like I m trying to deal with being perceived that way again because I don t want to pretend or be in a closet or be viewed that way. So it s sort of hard to deal with that. (female participant)
Assumed Female Connection I was going to say as far as the communication piece, how it can manifest itself, I m talking about girls. She should be able to understand me. We both have the same periods. We both get moody the same way. Why don t you understand? What the fuck is wrong with you? Why don t you get it, you know what I mean and I m going to be angry at her and not sensitive. If I was dating a man, it s like he s just not going to get it, I m just going to let this go and go want to talk to my home girls.
Assumed Female Connection there s kind of like that female connection what you [referring to another participant] were talking about and connection you assume leads to a shared understanding and doesn t necessarily I mean same sex couples you have to deal with like expecting the other person to understand you because they re the same gender.
Other Relationship Issues Some people just aren t good together. So sometimes the reason for the violence is because they push each other s buttons (male participant) Plus you have double the jealousy if you re dating a bisexual girl. They re always looking at dudes and girls like that jealousy level is just like up there. (female participant)
Mental Health Consequences 50% met or exceeded the criteria score for depression 40% met or exceeded the criteria score for PTSD Current psychological victimization related to depression and PTSD Current psychological perpetration related to PTSD Current physical perpetration related to depression and PTSD
Conclusions Prevalence of dating violence is disturbingly high among this population (both adolescent and current) Such violence is adversely related to physical and mental health outcomes (particularly detrimental to mental health) Prevention/intervention efforts are needed which target this population
Conclusions Unique factors which contribute to violence in same-sex dating relationships among youth. Assumed female connection may impeded healthy communication between female partners Young LBQ females in need of healthy role models and models of healthy same-sex relationships
Implications Need interventions which facilitate healthy relationships and reduce dating violence among this population Community-based organizations that work with sexual minority youth should include dating violence education Community-based IPV and sexual assault agencies and state coalitions need to address the needs of sexual minorities
Implications Education. Efforts must be made to educate youth about DV and the multiple ways in which abuse can occur in relationships, including the reality of such violence in same-sex dating relationships. Such efforts must begin early (middle school) Contextual Factors. Address those factors that contribute to the spread of IPV/DV. This includes community passivity, lack of effective prevention efforts, lack of early education, homophobia, structural inequalities and community violence
Implications Comprehensive Interventions Inclusion of mental & sexual health in prevention agendas addressing heterosexism and homophobia education on healthy relationships acknowledgement of community-level factors which influence DV Acknowledge and validate the reality of same-sex dating among adolescents
Components of Culturally Specific Interventions Designed for and developed in collaboration with target population Uses language familiar to target population Uses channels of dissemination which will successfully reach target population Representative staff Conducted in environment comfortable for participants Incorporates cultural values, norms, expectations and attitudes of target group into the intervention
How Interventions/Services May Be Culturally Competent Use channels of dissemination which will successfully reach the target community Hire qualified staff that are representative of the target community Create a welcoming environment for target community within the agency Incorporate cultural values, norms, expectations and attitudes of the target community within the intervention Incorporate elements of a culturally specific curriculum
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION Gillum, T. L. & DiFulvio, G. T. (2014). Examining dating violence and its mental health consequences among sexual minority youth. In D. Peterson & V. R. Panfil (eds.), Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime and Justice (pp. 431- 448). New York, NY: Springer Gillum, T. L. & DiFulvio, G. (2012). There s so much at stake : Sexual minority youth discuss dating violence. Violence Against Women, 18(7), 725-745.
