Project 443741

Violence is a major public health problem. Men experience and commit many forms of violence across their lifetime at home, in workplaces, and in public, yet we know little about the health effects of lifetime violence for men. Health can be linked to violence through direct injury, stress effects, or behaviours such as substance use. Social determinants of health such as gender (beliefs about what it means to be a man), income, food security, and education intersect to influence health effects of violence over time. In this study, we will conduct an online survey with a national sample of 1400 English-speaking Canadian men 3 times at 12-month intervals. We will ask about their current physical and mental health, health behaviours, social factors that affect their health, and the nature and extent of violence they have experienced in their lifetime. We will evaluate a new measure of cumulative lifetime violence severity (CLVS) that reflects how men define and sustain violence as target and perpetrator across the lifespan. We will explore differences in patterns of men's experiences of CLVS as a target and/or perpetrator in childhood through adulthood and social determinants of health that are associated with health over time. Expected outcomes of this research include: 1) increased knowledge of sub-groups of violence-affected men most at-risk for negative health outcomes; 2) validation of a new measure of CLVS for men's health research; 3) insights into variation in men's health over time according to CLVS and social determinants of health; and 4) evidence of ways in which different patterns of violence are associated with health outcomes. Together, the findings of this study will help health providers, policy makers, and other stakeholders develop programs and policies to assist men most at-risk for violence-related health problems, such as depression, chronic pain and cannabis use, to promote and manage their health.