“I’m Surprised I Survived”: Men’s Descriptions of Their Experiences with Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

Men’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly how men interpret and make sense of these experiences, remain underexamined in research and practice. To address this gap, the present study analyzed open-ended responses from 247 racially and ethnically diverse men living in the United States whose descriptions of IPV victimization by female partners extended beyond discrete acts of abuse. Reflexive thematic analysis identified six interconnected themes: unhealthy relational dynamics, consequences of abuse, reflections on the relationship, intentional withholding of information, defending the partner’s behavior, and broader concerns. Together, these findings illuminate how men across racial and ethnic groups understand and narrate their IPV experiences within broader relational and psychological contexts, highlighting processes that can inform future research, trauma-informed practice, and interventions for male IPV victims.