Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Research on intimate partner violence and abuse in same-sex couple’s\nrelationships is still a relatively new area of interest. Given the silence\nsurrounding this form of abuse within the field, there is much to be learned by\nresearch focusing on its meaning. This research study examined violence and\nabuse in the couple’s relationships of gay men from a British perspective. The\nstudy is located within a phenomenological approach, designed to capture the\nessence of the individual’s experience. The choice of a grounded theory\napproach for the analysis of the data rested on it being particularly helpful in\ngenerating theory in areas where this is lacking. However, the challenge of\nrecruiting participants to the study limited the utility of the method, highlighting\nthe ongoing difficulty of gaining access to sexual minority participants for\nstudies involving sensitive issues. Eight participants, all gay men, were recruited\nand semi-structured interviews administered as a basis for generating data. A\nfocus group discussion also formed part of the study and considered the\nquestion of whether same-sex partner abuse is the same or different from that\nseen in heterosexual couple’s relationships. Findings suggest that love for one’s\npartner, hope for change and quality of sex, accounted for the ongoing\ninvestment made by these men in their violent and abusive relationships. The\nemphasis on physical abuse diminished the importance of other forms of abuse,\ni.e. emotional, psychological and financial abuse. The direction of the abuse\nwas in contrast to that seen in heterosexual relationships, i.e. the partner with\nmost instrumental power, was the one most at risk of abuse. There was little\n5\nrecognition of the impact of homophobia or internalized homophobia as\npossible contributory factors in the development of violence and abuse.\nParticipants tended to rely on their own resources rather than seeking outside\nhelp and the clinical implications of this were considered.
Author: Damian McCann
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2101054530