Exploring factors of intimate partner violence among men of Mexican origin

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects many females, particularly women of color, in the United States. Victims of IPV experience both short and long term physical and mental consequences (World Health Organization, 2014), which negatively impact the healthcare and judicial system (Lloyd & Taluc, 1999). Few qualitative studies have been conducted among men of Mexican origin (MMO), exploring unique risk factors that contribute to the higher incidence of IPV perpetration among this population. The purpose of this study was to explore IPV perpetration risk factors among MMO. The research question that guided this study were: 1) what are the issues confronting men of Mexican origin within public housing communities? and 2) how does culture influence the behavior of men of Mexican origin with regards to IPV? This exploratory qualitative research study was framed within the Social Ecological Model (Dahlberg and Krug, 2002), to explore IPV perpetration risk factors among MMO. This study utilized focus groups of 1.5–2 hours for data collection. Lincoln and Guba’s model of trustworthiness (1985) was used to ensure rigor. Grounded Theory techniques (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) guided the data analysis. Several emerging categories were deconstructed from the data such as: Societal view of men of Mexican origin, Family of origin, Male contributions to IPV, Female contributions to IPV, Environment as a context, Normalcy and Breaking through. These emerging categories were supported by direct quotes and led to the core themes: How others see me, Masked me, Real me, and Heartfelt me. The emerging categories and core themes were further abstracted into the overarching theme, Mirror as self-reflection