Domestic Violence in Puerto Rican Gay Male Couples: Perceived Prevalence, Intergenerational Violence, Addictive Behaviors, and Conflict Resolution Skills

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.