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Interpersonal- and Community-Level Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among African American Men

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An Erratum to this article was published on 16 November 2012

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been associated with adverse physical, psychoemotional, and sexual health, and African American women are at higher risk for experiencing IPV. Considering African American women predominantly have African American male partners, it is essential to identify factors associated with IPV perpetration among African American men. The present study examined attitudes toward IPV, ineffective couple conflict resolution, exposure to neighborhood violence, and the interplay of these factors as predictors of IPV perpetration. A community sample of 80 single, heterosexual, African American men between 18 and 29 years completed measures assessing sociodemographics, attitudes towards IPV, perceived ineffective couple conflict resolution, exposure to neighborhood violence, and IPV perpetration during the past 3 months. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses, with age, education, and public assistance as covariates, were conducted on 65 men who reported being in a main relationship. Couple conflict resolution and exposure to neighborhood violence moderated the relation between attitudes supporting IPV and IPV perpetration. Among men who reported high ineffective couple conflict resolution and high exposure to neighborhood violence, IPV perpetration increased as attitudes supporting IPV increased. The findings indicated that interpersonal- and community-level factors interact with individual level factors to increase the risk of recent IPV perpetration among African American men. While IPV prevention should include individual-level interventions that focus on skills building, these findings also highlight the importance of couple-, community-, and structural-level interventions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jerris Laverne Raiford

  2. Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Puja Seth, Nikia D. Braxton & Ralph J. DiClemente

  3. Emory Center for AIDS Research, Social and Behavioral Sciences Core, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Puja Seth, Nikia D. Braxton & Ralph J. DiClemente

  4. Division of Global HIV/AIDS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Puja Seth

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  1. Jerris Laverne Raiford
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  4. Ralph J. DiClemente
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Correspondence to Jerris Laverne Raiford.

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Raiford, J.L., Seth, P., Braxton, N.D. et al. Interpersonal- and Community-Level Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among African American Men. J Urban Health 90, 784–795 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9717-3

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