Men’s differential identification with female-perpetrated intimate partner victimization

Abstract

ABSTRACT Men are often reluctant to self-identify as victims of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (f-IPV), despite significant harms. This reluctance results in underreporting of experiences and a concomitant lack of support and resources for male victims. We examined predictors of men’s differential self-identification as victims of f-IPV; that is, between men who self-identify both as having experienced and as being a victim of f-IPV (abuse and victim identified = AVI), men who self-identify as having experienced f-IPV, but not as being a victim of f-IPV (abuse-only identified = AI), and men who self-identify as neither having experienced nor being a victim of f-IPV, despite behaviourally having experienced it (non-abuse and non-victim identified = N-AVI). We recruited cisgender men (N = 212) to an online study examining experiences of f-IPV and identification with abuse. About two-thirds of our sample did not self-identify as victims of f-IPV despite reporting victimisation experiences. We found that frequency of f-IPV, psychological vulnerability from f-IPV, precarious manhood beliefs, and ambivalent sexism significantly predicted men’s self-identification as victims of f-IPV. We elucidate predictors of men’s reluctance to self-identify as victims of f-IPV, allowing for the identification of men who may be less likely to seek and obtain support.