liu.seSearch for publications in DiVA
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • oxford
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Men's experiences of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and abuse in health care: A cross-sectional study of a Swedish random male population sample
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Gender and medicine. Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences.
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Gender and medicine. Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences. Östergötlands Läns Landsting, Local Health Care Services in Central Östergötland, Department of Acute Internal Medicine.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0704-202X
Linköping University, The Tema Institute, The Department of Gender Studies. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Gender and medicine. Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences. Östergötlands Läns Landsting, Center of Paediatrics and Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Linköping.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2902-7077
2012 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, ISSN 1403-4948, E-ISSN 1651-1905, Vol. 40, no 2, p. 191-202Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aims: This article addresses the under-researched area ofmen’s experiences of abuse. The aims were to estimate prevalence ofemotional, physical, and sexual abuse and abuse in health care in a random sample of Swedish adult men, to compare these estimates with previously collected prevalence rates in a male clinical sample to see if prevalence rates were dependant on response rate and sampling method. We also wanted to contribute to a more general analysis of men’s experiences ofvictimisation.

Methods: Cross-sectional study design. The NorVold Abuse Questionnaire that measures the prevalence of four kinds of abuse was sent to 6000 men selected at random from the population of Östergötland, Sweden.

Results: The responserate was 50% (n=2924). Lifetime experiences of emotional abuse were reported by 16.7%, physical abuse by 48.9%, sexualabuse by 4.5%, and abuse in health care by 7.3%. The proportion ofmen who currently suffered fromabusive experiences washighest for emotional abuse and abuse in health care. No difference in prevalence was seen between the random populationsample and the clinical sample despite significant differences regarding response rate and background characteristics.

Conclusions: Abuse against men is prevalent and men are victimised as patients in health care. Response rateand sampling method did not influence prevalence rates of abuse. Men’s victimisation from emotional abuseand abuse in health care was associated with low income and being born outside of the Nordic countries and hence needs to be analysed in the intersections of gender, class, and ethnicity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2012. Vol. 40, no 2, p. 191-202
Keywords [en]
Abuse, male victimisation, masculinity, violence
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-75588DOI: 10.1177/1403494811425711ISI: 000301192100012OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-75588DiVA, id: diva2:508545
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2007-3011
Note

funding agencies|Swedish Research Council| 2007-3011 |

Available from: 2012-03-09 Created: 2012-03-09 Last updated: 2021-12-28
In thesis
1. Toward an integrated approach in research on interpersonal violence: Conceptual and methodological challenges
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Toward an integrated approach in research on interpersonal violence: Conceptual and methodological challenges
2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Background: There is a growing understanding that different kinds of interpersonal violence are interrelated. Many victims report experiences of cumulative violence, i.e., being subjected to more than one kind of violent behaviour (sexual, physical, emotional) and/or violence from more than one kind of perpetrator (family members, partners, acquaintances/strangers). To gain a more comprehensive understanding of what violence entails for victims, how victims can be helped and how violence can be prevented, there is a need to learn more about the co-occurrence of violence. Also, despite strong associations repeatedly being found between exposure to violence and the reporting of different kinds of ill-health, only a minority of victims have told health care professionals about their victimization. Less is known about the process of disclosing victimization to health care professionals for men than for women.

Main aims: 1) Investigate the prevalence and co-occurrence of self-reported lifetime experiences of different kinds of interpersonal violence among male and female clinical and random population samples in Sweden (Study I-II). 2) Investigate whether cumulative violence is more strongly associated with       self-reported symptoms off psychological ill-health than with any kind of victimization alone (Study III).   3) Develop a theoretical model concerning male victims’ process of disclosing experiences of victimization to health care professionals in Sweden (Study IV).  

Method: The self-reported prevalence of interpersonal violence as well as self-reported symptoms of psychological ill-health were estimated by means of secondary analyses of data collected with the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire (NorAQ). Both sexes were represented in clinical (women n=2439 men n=1767) and random population samples (women n=1168 men n=2924). Descriptive statistics as well as binary logistic regression and ordinal regression analyses were used (Study I-III). In study IV, constructivist grounded theory was used, and 12 men were interviewed concerning their experience of disclosing victimization to health care professionals.

Results: A large proportion of victims (women: 47-48%, men: 29-31%) reported experiences of more than one kind of violent behaviour. Many also reported being subjected to violence by more than one kind of perpetrator (women: 33-37%, men: 22-23%). Reporting cumulative violence had a stronger association with symptoms of psychological ill-health than reporting only one kind of victimization. In study IV, the interviewed men’s own perceptions and considerations beforehand (e.g., perceived need for help and feelings of shame), as well as the dynamics during the actual health care encounter (e.g., patient-provider relationship and time constraints), were essential for understanding the process of disclosure. Also, the men’s own conformity to hegemonic constructions of masculinity and professionals’ adherence to gender norms had a strong negative influence on the men’s process of disclosure.

Discussion: Experiences of cumulative violence were common. Prevalence rates of experiences of different kinds of interpersonal violence were compared to previous studies on interpersonal violence in Sweden. Large discrepancies were found between all studies, which is a symptom of methodological and conceptual difficulties within the research field. Violence is a gendered phenomenon. Differences were seen in the kind of violence men and women reported. In addition to this, the results in study IV indicate that gender affects how violence is perceived and how victims are treated by health care professionals.

Conclusion: Integrated approaches in research on interpersonal violence, as well as in clinical work, are needed. If the co-occurrence of violence is ignored, it may hamper our understanding of the experiences and consequences of interpersonal violence for victims. More research is needed into what produces the differences found in prevalence rates between studies to improve the methodology.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2015. p. 99
Series
Linköping University Medical Dissertations, ISSN 0345-0082 ; 1434
Keywords
Violence, Abuse, intimate partner violence, Poly-victimization, Re-victimization
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-114605 (URN)10.3384/diss.diva-114605 (DOI)978-91-7519-156-0 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-04-01, Berzeliussalen, Campus HU, Linköping, 09:00 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 521-2007-3011
Available from: 2015-03-02 Created: 2015-02-27 Last updated: 2019-11-15Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(745 kB)1838 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 745 kBChecksum SHA-512
f5c9e96b51bf1081879511924ec13a33b85f788b3157cf6ab7c5a26e606bfb806d0b9be1c35cc1a55d96f689500e16872bd138123e3a029a705b4d08b83fce72
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Swahnberg, KatarinaDavidsson-Simmons, JohannaHearn, JeffWijma, Barbro

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Swahnberg, KatarinaDavidsson-Simmons, JohannaHearn, JeffWijma, Barbro
By organisation
Gender and medicineFaculty of Health SciencesDepartment of Acute Internal MedicineThe Department of Gender StudiesFaculty of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Linköping
In the same journal
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 1844 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 513 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • oxford
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf