(PS9-74) Coping with Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Sexual Minority Men: A Qualitative Approach

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent among sexual minority men (SMM) and is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. While a limited body of research has examined help-seeking and its potential barriers among SMM who have experienced IPV, less research has explored other forms of coping with IPV within this population. Moreover, the contextual factors that inform the use of specific coping strategies and their perceived effectiveness are not well understood. To address this gap in the literature, the present study used a qualitative design with a demographically diverse sample of (n = 25) young sexual minority men (YSMM) to (1) build on current understanding of help-seeking and its potential barriers; (2) identify coping strategies used beyond help-seeking; and (3) explore contextual factors surrounding the use of these strategies. Results indicated that participants used the following strategies to cope with IPV: (1) help-seeking (e.g., informal and formal support); (2) distraction (e.g., substance use, casual sex, and other general distractions); (3) cognitive reappraisal; (4) venting; (5) denial; and (6) avoidance of future relationships. Participants additionally reported several barriers to help-seeking, including (1) being isolated from their support system; (2) minimizing their experience of violence; (3) experiencing stigma related to being victims of IPV; (4) situational barriers (e.g., lacking health insurance for therapy, distrust of law enforcement, identity concealment); and (5) lacking awareness of IPV resources. The themes emerging from the qualitative data suggest that the effectiveness of engaging in different coping strategies was dependent on a range of contextual factors, including the perceived responsiveness of support sources and one's intention in engaging in distraction-related coping strategies. Relatedly, some participants who attempted more adaptive forms of coping (e.g., help-seeking) and experienced unsatisfactory outcomes often refrained from subsequent help-seeking or turned to more maladaptive forms of coping (e.g., substance use). These findings add important nuance to what is typically considered as "adaptive" versus "maladaptive" forms of coping in quantitative findings in the broader literature. This nuance and the importance of context provides notable implications for clinical practice and policy, such as the value of nonjudgmental approaches to treatment and more appropriate training in working with SMM who have experienced IPV.