Intimate partner violence and disordered eating among male and female veterans

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects many women and men in the United States and has been associated with numerous mental health conditions, including disordered eating (DE). Veterans may be especially vulnerable to experiencing both of these serious problems given the unique aspects and stressors relevant to military culture, including high rates of trauma exposure. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of past-year IPV among independent samples of male (N = 642) and female (N = 198) veterans and to examine the association between past-year IPV and DE. Mplus 7.0 was used to estimate associations between multiple types of IPV and DE, controlling for age, body mass index, military sexual trauma, and other military trauma. Approximately 14.86% of male veterans and 12.79% of female veterans reported experiencing some form of past-year IPV. All forms of past-year IPV, including physical, sexual, and psychological/emotional, were significantly associated with DE in both samples, after adjusting for covariates. IPV was relatively common among male and female veterans, and those who experience IPV may be particularly vulnerable to DE. Findings extend the knowledge base regarding IPV and its health effects among an understudied population, and may be a catalyst for further research and clinical inquiry to target improving psychiatric care for male and female veterans who experience IPV.