Injuries/Violence
Application of IPV instrument in accurately identifying and abusive and unsafe relationships Alison Walsh* Alison Walsh Erin Kahle
Current survey instruments may underestimate intimate partner violence (IPV) prevalence in GBMSM (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) relationships, possibly due to incomplete capture of the full range of relationship abuse. This study evaluated the IPV-GBMSM scale’s effectiveness in identifying self-reported abusive and unsafe relationships in 399 partnered GBMSM living with HIV (US, 2022-2024). The scale covers 18 emotional, physical/sexual, and controlling IPV behaviors over the 3 months prior to survey. Participants reporting the experience of any listed behavior were categorized as IPV victims. They also indicated if they felt safe in their relationship or considered their relationship abusive. IPV prevalence according to the IPV-GBMSM scale was calculated overall and by domain. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive/negative predictive values (PPV/NPV) of the scale for identifying unsafe and abusive relationships were analyzed. Overall IPV prevalence was 43.9%, with emotional, physical/sexual, and controlling IPV at 26.1%, 18.6%, and 24.9%, respectively. Of participants, 6.8% and 6.5% deemed their relationships unsafe or abusive. Sensitivity for identifying unsafety ranged from 0.6 (physical/sexual) to 0.8 (any IPV); specificity ranged from 0.6 (any IPV) to 0.9 (physical/sexual). Sensitivity and specificity for abusive relationships ranged from 0.7 (controlling) to 0.9 (any IPV) and 0.6 (any IPV) to 0.9 (physical/sexual). PPVs for safety and abuse were similar, at 0.2 (any IPV) to 0.3 (physical/sexual). All NPVs were near 1.0. Low PPVs suggest a disconnect between individual experiences of relationship abusive and threats to physical or mental health and the IPV-GBMSM instrument’s assessment. Critical evaluations and the development of new tools to more accurately measure real-world IPV experiences and perceptions are essential.