Intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration behaviors among individuals with chronic pain

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common among individuals with chronic pain and significantly impacts psychological and physical health. Yet, previous research has primarily focused on victimization and often exclusively female samples. This study explores emotional and physical IPV victimization and perpetration among male and female individuals with chronic pain recruited from a single healthcare system and their association with psychological, social, and physical functioning. The study included 353 participants (M_age = 40.87, SD = 11.72; 83 % female) with chronic pain. Rates of IPV victimization and perpetration varied across type of behavior. Latent class analysis exhibited four IPV classes according to differences in the prevalence of frequent emotional and physical IPV victimization and perpetration in the past year: a moderate emotional abuse class (26.9 %); a low IPV class (23.2 %); a high IPV class (15.0 %); and a high hostile withdrawal class (34.8 %). Significant group differences were found across psychosocial and pain-related measures. The findings suggest that IPV among individuals with chronic pain is complex and dynamic, often with both victimization and perpetration reported. The findings confirm that individuals in relationships marked by past year emotional and physical IPV exhibit worse psychosocial and pain-related symptoms compared to individuals reporting low IPV. The findings also suggest that emotional IPV marked by control and denigration is associated with worse outcomes as well. These findings highlight the importance of trauma informed care, as well as increasing knowledge about and comfort in addressing IPV in a clinical setting. PERSPECTIVE: Intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration behaviors are common among individuals with chronic pain and associated with differential psychological, social, and physical functioning.