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May 19, 2008
Men experience domestic violence, with health impact
Group Health study debunks five myths about abuse of men
Seattle—Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women,
according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of
Preventive Medicine. “Domestic violence in men is under-studied and
often hidden—much as it was in women 10 years ago,” said study leader
Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate
investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. “We want abused
men to know they’re not alone.” His findings confirm some common beliefs but
also debunk five myths about abuse in men:
Myth 1: Few men experience domestic violence. Many
do. In-depth phone interviews with over 400 randomly sampled adult male
Group Health patients surprised Dr. Reid and his colleagues: 5% had
experienced domestic violence in the past year, 10% in the past five years,
and 29% over their lifetimes. The researchers defined domestic violence to
include nonphysical abuse—threats, chronic disparaging remarks, or
controlling behavior—as well as physical abuse: slapping, hitting, kicking,
or forced sex.
Myth 2: Abuse of men has no serious effects. The
researchers found domestic violence is associated with serious, long-term
effects on men’s mental health. Women are more likely
than men to experience more severe physical abuse, said Dr. Reid. “But even
nonphysical abuse—can do lasting damage.” Depressive symptoms were nearly
three times as common in older men who had experienced abuse than in those
who hadn’t, with much more severe depression in the men who had been abused
physically.
Myth 3: Abused men don’t stay, because they’re free to leave.
In fact, men may stay for years with their abusive partners.
“We know that many women may have trouble leaving abusive
relationships, especially if they’re caring for young children and not
working outside the home,” said Dr. Reid. “We were surprised to find that
most men in abusive relationships also stay, through multiple episodes, for
years.”
Myth 4: Domestic violence affects only poor people.
The study actually showed it to be an equal-opportunity scourge.
“As we found in our previous research with women experiencing
domestic violence, this is a common problem affecting people in all walks of
life,” said Dr. Reid. “Our patients at Group Health have health insurance
and easy access to health care, and their employment rate and average
income, education level, and age are higher than those of the rest of the
U.S. population.”
Myth 5: Ignoring it will make it go away. Not so.
“We doctors hardly ever ask our male patients about being abused—and
they seldom tell us,” said Dr. Reid. “Many abused men feel ashamed because
of societal expectations for men to be tough and in control.” Younger men
were twice as likely as men age 55 or older to report recent abuse. “That
may be because older men are even more reluctant to talk about it,” he
added.
This study extends Group Health’s research on domestic violence, a.k.a.
intimate partner violence. The team’s previous publications have documented
the prevalence, persistence, and health effects of domestic violence on
women. In the current study, they asked men the same questions that they had
asked of women. “Our team is concerned about abuse of people: of women as
well as men,” Dr. Reid added. “We do not want to downplay the seriousness of
domestic violence as experienced by women.”
Dr. Reid said more research is needed to determine the best ways for
doctors to ask men if they have experienced domestic violence—and how best
to help them into couples counseling, leaving their partners, or getting
protection orders. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is toll-free
1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
“At Group Health, we health care providers have access to system-wide
Web-based tools on our intranet that are gender-neutral,” said Jane Ann
Dimer, MD, Group Health’s chief of women’s health and an advocate
representing Group Health with local and regional agencies concerned with
domestic violence. “These tools help us connect our abused patients with
local agencies and support networks that can help them.”
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Group Health
Center for Health Studies funded this work, co-authored by
Melissa Anderson, MS,
Paul Fishman, PhD, David Carrell,
PhD, and Robert Thompson, MD of the Group
Health Center for Health Studies; Amy Bonomi, PhD, MPH, now an Ohio State
University associate professor of human development & family science in
Columbus; and Group Health Center for Health Studies affiliate scientific
investigator Frederick Rivara, MD, MPH, of Harborview Injury Prevention and
Research Center and the University of Washington.
About Group Health Center for Health Studies
Founded in 1947, Group Health is a Seattle-based, consumer-governed,
nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. For 25
years, the Group Health Center for Health Studies has conducted research on
preventing, diagnosing, and treating major health problems. Government and
private research grants provide its main funding.
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