Domestic violence in Puerto Rican gay male couples : perceived prevalence, intergenerational violence, addictive behaviors, and conflict resolution skills

J. Toro-Alfonso, S. Rodríguez-Madera

Domestic violence (DV) is a pattern of behaviors in the context of an intimate relationship, which can be manifested in emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. DV currently represents a social and a public health issue. This study is an effort to foster a better understanding of DV among same-sex couples. In it, the authors included the participation of 199 Puerto Rican gay males to identify prevalence of DV, violence in their family of origin, participants_ addictive behaviors and exposure to violence at childhood, and their conflict resolution skills. Participants were relatively young, highly educated Puerto Rican gay men who reported a high level of domestic violence in their relationships. This violence was identified as emotional violence by 48% of the participants. This sample reported high levels of violence among their families of origin and low conflict resolution skills.