Symposia
LGBQT+
Elissa L. Sarno, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Michael Newcomb, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois
Sarah Whitton, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Background: Sexual and gender minorities assigned female at birth (SGM-AFAB) experience high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). To understand the etiology of IPV among SGM-AFAB and develop culturally relevant interventions, it is important to investigate unique factors associated with IPV in this population. One such factor is minority stress, the unique stress derived from being a member of a socially stigmatized group. Extending the small and predominantly cross-sectional literature, the present study used multiwave longitudinal data to test concurrent and prospective within-person associations, and between-persons associations, between minority stress and IPV among SGM-AFAB.
Method: Data were from Waves 1-7 of an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of 488 young SGM-AFAB. At each wave participants reported on minority stress (i.e., SGM victimization, sexual orientation microaggressions, internalized heterosexism, and sexual orientation concealment) and victimization and perpetration of psychological, physical, sexual, and SGM-specific IPV, and coercive control, across up to three partners. Multilevel models tested within- and between-persons associations of minority stress with IPV. We examined concurrent within-persons associations (minority stress at each wave predicting IPV at the same wave) and prospective within-persons associations (minority stress predicting IPV at the next wave, controlling for the outcome at the previous wave).
Results: Distal stressors (SGM victimization and microaggressions) showed concurrent within-person associations with all IPV types except SGM-specific IPV perpetration. Internalized heterosexism had significant within-persons concurrent associations with psychological IPV and coercive control. Though prospective associations were less consistent, SGM victimization, microaggressions, and internalized heterosexism were each associated with increases in two IPV types in the following 6 months. Sexual identity concealment was not associated with any IPV outcome within-persons but was associated with psychological and physical IPV between-persons.
Conclusions: Results suggest that minority stress experiences, particularly distal minority stressors, contribute to risk for IPV among SGM-AFAB over time. Clinicians working with SGM-AFAB individuals in relationships or couples may benefit from screening for frequency of experiences of minority stressors, as these have been shown in the present study to be linked to an increased likelihood of IPV.