Relationship Functioning Buffers the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Intimate Partner Violence Among Latino Sexual Minority Male Couples

Purpose: While associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) have been well-documented, few studies have identified relationship factors that buffer this association. Even fewer studies have examined these relationships among Latino sexual minority men (SMM). To address this gap, we tested a model in which relationship functioning moderated this association in a sample of Latino SMM couples. Methods: Data were collected from 95 couples (190 participants) using a sequential index-partner recruitment design. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models were calculated using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: Among men whose partners scored low on the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, those who reported 1 or more ACEs reported more forms of IPV victimization. In contrast, the association between the actor effect of ACEs and IPV victimization was not significant among those whose partners scored high on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. In a symmetrical pattern, among men who scored low on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale those whose partners reported 1 or more ACEs reported more forms of IPV victimization; however, at high levels of self-reported relationship functioning, partner reported ACEs were relatively associated with fewer reported forms of IPV victimization. Conclusions: These results are consistent with the premise that relationship functioning may serve as one source of resilience, attenuating the association between ACEs and IPV victimization among a sample of coupled Latino SMM. We interpret these findings within the larger IPV literature and provide suggestions for IPV prevention program development, with a particular emphasis on reaching Latino SMM.