Intimate partner violence and its association with symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among HIV-negative cisgender sexual minority men in the United States

We examined mediators of the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health among 500 HIV-negative cisgender sexual minority men (SMM) residing across the United States-a population disproportionately impacted by depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Depressive symptoms were measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and PTSD symptoms with the Primary Care PTSD Checklist (PC-PTSD-5). Forty percent (n = 20) of the sample reported any IPV (victimization or perpetration) in the past 6 months. IPV (represented by mean number of IPV domains with at least one behavior that occurred more than once) was positively correlated with symptoms of depression and PTSD, and these associations were partially mediated (both direct and indirect effects were statistically significant) by social support, coping self-efficacy, substance use consequences, and sexual orientation discrimination; relationship communication partially mediated the association between IPV and depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the strength of the direct association between IPV and mental health for SMM. While the psychosocial and relationship characteristics studied in this analysis may help inform strategies for helping SMM to manage stress related to IPV, multicomponent interventions that address both direct and indirect pathways are likely needed.