Purpose: Few studies are available that assess the response to violent interpersonal victimization among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) men and women. While national studies of the prevalence of victimization have shown that AI/AN women report higher levels of sexual assault and intimate partner violence then women of other racial and ethnic backgrounds, similar data on the incidence of violent victimization among AI/AN men is not available. Further, empirical research on the consequences of violence for AI/AN men and women is minimal. The present study describes patterns of victimization among AI/AN men and women, and evaluates gender differences in the physical and mental health consequences of violence.

Method: This study uses a sample of 197 AI/AN persons from New York City gathered from 2000 through 2003. New York City was chosen for this study because it has the highest number of AI/AN people in the United States, although as a percentage of the population, they actually comprise less than 1 percent. Because the urban AI/AN population is a difficult one to access, this study used a variation of respondent-driven sampling, a technique used to find hidden populations. This approach combines network sampling with the random selection of participants in order to make the sample as heterogeneous and diverse as possible. Victimization was assessed using the Lifetime Traumatic Events Questionnaire which assesses lifetime experience of sexual assault, childhood physical abuse, intimate partner violence, and criminal assault (such as being robbed or mugged). Physical and mental health outcomes were assessed using a variety of established measures for depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol use, sexual risk taking and general health.

Results: Descriptive results show high levels of interpersonal violence across the sample, with rates higher than what are typically seen among other ethnic groups. AI/AN women reported significantly higher rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence than men, and men reported slightly higher rates of criminal assaults. There were no differences between men and women in the report of serious childhood physical abuse. Men and women differed in their responses to these traumatic events. Men who reported sexual assault noted higher levels of current depression and anxiety than women. Women who were victims of sexual assault or child physical abuse were more likely than men to report that they engaged in sexual risk taking and drug use. Neither men nor women who were victims of violence reported differences in physical health outcomes.

Implications: This study is one of the first to document levels of violent victimization among AI/AN men, with these men reporting significantly higher levels of lifetime violence exposure than men of other ethnicities. AI/AN men and women differed in terms of their responses to victimization, showing patterns of responses that challenge dominant gender paradigms about trauma responses. AI/AN men reported higher levels of internalizing behaviors, whereas AI/AN women reported higher levels of externalizing behaviors. These findings indicate that victimization is a serious issue for urban AI/AN men and women, which requires distinctive responses from mental health professionals.