A good father helps stop boys committing abuse in relationships later in life, study finds

More than one-third of Australian men say they have used a form of intimate partner violence, including emotional abuse, as a new study found that having an affectionate father is a strong preventive factor.

The world’s largest longitudinal study of men’s health, Ten to Men, by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, surveyed 16,000 boys and men and found 35 per cent aged 18-65 said they had used a form of domestic violence in their lifetime.

Having severe depression, suicidal thoughts or a plan to end one’s life were considered strong enough indicators the man was also at risk of harming his partner that researchers said mental health clinicians and GPs should be trained to ask men directly how they resolved conflict at home.

The study defined intimate partner violence in the same way as outlined by the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. It is any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm.

Thirty-two per cent of men said in 2022 that they had made an intimate partner feel “frightened or anxious” as part of emotional abuse, the most common abuse type reported.

The study is the first national estimate of male partner violence perpetration in Australia.

When first surveyed in 2013-14, about one in four of the men reported ever having used intimate partner violence, but the number had risen to one in three for the same cohort by 2022 – the latest data round.

The biggest increase in the use of abuse was among 18- to 24-year-olds, for whom the incidence doubled in the decade, followed by 25- to 34-year-olds.

A spokesperson for the institute said it was unclear if man-o-sphere personalities such as Andrew Tate had influenced the apparent increase among younger men.

The study takes a public health approach that considers improving men’s health and wellbeing in relation to preventing intimate partner violence.

Professor Kelsey Hegarty, a GP and joint chair in Family Violence Prevention at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women’s Hospital, said men with serious, depressive mental ill health should be asked how disagreements were handled in their relationships, “if it is safe to do so”.

“Some are really dangerous men, this is not for everybody, but [it is] for a group of men who may be doing things they regret: yelling, controlling, occasionally hitting,” said Hegarty, leader of the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence.

“But if you do this early engagement in a gentle way, engage them with some empathy, [you can] then make them accountable.”

Men with moderate or severe depressive symptoms were more likely to use intimate partner violence by 2022 (62 per cent) than those who did not have these symptoms.

Those with suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts were 47 per cent more likely to use partner violence, and those with mild depressive symptoms were 32 per cent more likely.

Nine per cent of respondents said they had hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt a partner when they were angry.

The project lead, Dr Sean Martin, said the research represented the first time the influence of the quality of men’s relationships with their fathers had been examined in the context of their later use of forms of intimate partner violence.

“Guys were asked qualitative questions about their fathers or father figures, if they understood their worries and problems, taught them about life, gave them the love and affection they felt they needed,” Martin said.

“Those who answered, ‘agree or strongly agree’, were far less likely to use intimate partner violence.”

High levels of social support “all of the time” were found to reduce the likelihood of men using violence by 26 per cent.

The report noted mental ill-health was high among Australian men, estimates suggesting that up to 25 per cent of men would be diagnosed with a mental health disorder in their lifetime.

Martin said the strong link between attentive fathering and reduced risk of men using violence in later relationships suggested programs for new fathers could help provide them important support as they managed the change and were engaged in their child’s development.

“Men are looking for support services during this critical stage,” he said. “There has been this societal shift where men are likely to be primary caregivers, which is great, but we’re playing a little bit of catch-up in society as to the access they get those support services.”

Martin said this part of the Ten to Men project would continue to delve into factors in men’s lives that contributed to the likelihood they would use partner violence.

“Hopefully, this will provide better quality evidence for interventions around perpetration and family safety issues,” he said.

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, an international family violence research leader, of Monash University, said: “The data clearly shows that men’s mental health and relationships matter – not as excuses for violence, but as earlier points of intervention.

“One of the key findings from this study is the protective effect of strong relationships with a father figure. This reinforces the importance of positive male role modelling and points to an important opportunity for prevention.”

She said governments must act to scale up evidence-based prevention and early intervention initiatives tailored for people who use violence.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the research was concerning, but not surprising. “It’s critical that we look at the factors that might lead to violence so we can make sure we’re funding programs that stop it at the start,” she said.

“To end domestic and family violence, we need to invest in the frontline services that help people and keep them safe, but we also need to stop the behaviours that lead to it.”

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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