Intimate Partner Violence Polyvictimization and Food Insecurity: Gender and Racial/Ethnic Variations

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) results in numerous negative health outcomes and/or social and economic hardship. Previous research found complex associations between experiencing food insecurity and IPV, showing that these associations may vary by the type of violence (e.g., physical, sexual, or psychological violence) and demographics (e.g., race and gender), moderated by mental health status. Despite survivors experiencing multiple types of violence, limited attention has been given to the cumulative effects of polyvictimization on food insecurity, especially regarding variations by gender. This study addresses this gap, using a nationally representative dataset to examine the relationship between IPV polyvictimization and food insecurity moderated by mental health, and their variations by gender.

Method: We used the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey collected in 2010. We selected 8,587 IPV survivors for this study (4,764 female and 3,823 male). We first conducted a latent class analysis (LCA) to classify IPV polyvictimization based on seven IPV types (e.g., psychological aggression, coercive control, physical violence, sexual assault, and stalking). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between IPV polyvictimization and food insecurity, and how these associations varied by gender, controlling for survivors’ sexual orientation, age, income, education, and current mental health status. Interaction terms between mental health and polyvictimization were tested for moderating effects of mental health.

Result: LCA revealed three polyvictimization patterns: (1) Multiple Violence (MV), victimized by most types of IPV (17%); (2) Coercive Control and Psychological Aggression (CCPA; 60%); and (3) Physical and Psychological Violence (PPV; 23%). About one-third (32%) of the survivors experienced food insecurity in the past year. Survivors of MV and PPV were more likely to experience food insecurity than CCPA survivors. Survivors who were female, Black, Hispanic, low-income, had low levels of education, or poor mental health were more likely to experience food insecurity. Among male survivors, being Black or Hispanic significantly increased the odds of food insecurity, while these factors were not significant among female survivors. Interaction terms between mental health and polyvictimization were not significant in all models.

Discussion: CCPA was the most prominent form of IPV polyvictimization, followed by PPV and MV, consistent with the literature. It is alarming that many IPV survivors suffer from food insecurity. MV and PPV survivors reported more food insecurity than CCPA survivors, suggesting that severe types of polyvictimization may affect food security more negatively than non-physical psychological violence does. Female survivors and racial/ethnic minority survivors reporting more food insecurity demonstrate that gender and racial/ethnic disparities permeate various areas of basic human rights, such as food, shelter, and health. Gender and race/ethnicity seem to interact with each other, putting male survivors who were racial/ethnically minor at further disadvantage. These results strongly suggest that the impacts of IPV need to be understood with careful consideration of the interplay of gender, race, and ethnicity, and that the services and programs for IPV survivors should assess and meet their clients with this nuanced understanding of the factors associated with their health and well-being.