Exploring negative emotion in women experiencing intimate partner violence: shame, guilt, and PTSD

This study explored the association of shame and guilt with PTSD among women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Sixty-three women were assessed by a research clinic serving the mental health needs of women IPV survivors. Results indicated that shame, guilt-related distress, and guilt-related cognitions showed significant associations with PTSD but global guilt did not. When shame and guilt were examined in the context of specific forms of psychological abuse, moderation analyses indicated that high levels of both emotional/verbal abuse and dominance/isolation interacted with high levels of shame in their association with PTSD. Neither guilt-related distress nor guilt-related cognitions were moderated by specific forms of psychological abuse in their association with PTSD. These data support the conceptualization of shame, guilt distress, and guilt cognitions as relevant features of PTSD. Results are discussed in light of proposed changes to diagnostic criteria for PTSD.     

LEAVING A SEXUALLY COERCIVE DATING PARTNER: A PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION OF THE INVESTMENT MODEL

In the present study, an investment model framework was applied to identify associations between partner verbal sexual coercion and dating relationship outcomes, including relationship commitment and maintenance. Undergraduate women ( N = 180) provided self-report data on investment model variables and verbal sexual coercion within their current relationships and returned 6 to 8 weeks later to report on their relationship status. About 28% of the participants endorsed partner verbal sexual coercion. Women in sexually coercive relationships reported greater investment but did not differ from other women in satisfaction, commitment, or later relationship maintenance. Results revealed indirect effects of partner sexual coercion on relationship commitment through greater perceived investment. Sustaining verbal sexual coercion in ongoing dating relationships may represent a type of relationship investment that indirectly promotes subjective commitment. Additional studies of verbal sexual coercion in committed romantic relationships are needed.     

Psychopathic traits,gender, and motivations for sex: Putative paths to sexual coercion

Evidence suggests that both men and women perpetrate sexual coercion. Psychological factors, including psychopathic traits and power motivations, have been proposed to characterize male-perpetrated sexual coercion; however, it is unclear whether these factors play a similar role in female-perpetrated coercion or whether other motivations (e.g., intimacy, affect regulation) should be considered. To improve our understanding in this area, the current study first examined relationships between psychopathic traits and sexual coercion in a sample of 1199 undergraduate students (756 women), with gender as a potential moderator of these relationships. Second, the role of motivations for sex (e.g., power, affect regulation) in accounting for the psychopathy-coercion relationship was examined in men and women. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed using multigroup path analysis. Results implicated impulsive-antisocial traits as particularly important to male-perpetrated verbal (e.g., manipulative) and nonverbal (e.g., physical) coercion, and that this relationship was partially explained by motives for sex involving power. In contrast, psychopathic traits did not appear to play a major role in female perpetrated coercion; instead, emotional value (i.e., intimacy-related) motivations for sex were associated with verbal (e.g., manipulation) coercion in women. In sum, our results support a conceptual model of male perpetration where men who are high in impulsive-antisocial traits may engage in sexual coercion in an attempt to feel powerful. Further, the findings in the female sample suggest that factors other than psychopathy, such as gender role beliefs in regard to sexual encounters, may be particularly important to female perpetrated sexually coercive behavior.     

Internalized Homophobia and Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adult Women’s Same-Sex Relationships

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV), internalized homophobia, and psychological maladjustment in a convenience sample of young adult women. Rates of psychological and physical abuse in women’s same-sex relationships were shown to be commensurate to previously reported rates of violence in the IPV literature; rates of sexual coercion were also ascertained. A relationship was found between Moral and Religious Attitudes Toward Lesbianism (MRATL), a dimension of internalized homophobia, and the perpetration of sexual coercion. As expected, internalized homophobia was connected to psychological maladjustment. In addition, both the perpetration of psychological aggression and physical violence were associated with emotional instability. The study findings are discussed within the current body of literature on IPV.     

A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation and Partner Violence Perpetration Among Individuals with PTSD and Alcohol Dependence

This study examines the link between emotion dysregulation and intimate partner violence (IPV) among 77 individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence. Participants were recruited from a residential substance abuse treatment program as part of the eligibility screening for an institutional review board approved clinical trial examining the efficacy of an exposure-based intervention in individuals dually diagnosed with alcohol dependence and PTSD. Participants reported on PTSD symptoms, alcohol use disorder symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and physical and verbal aggression in their intimate relationships during the past year. Findings demonstrated that difficulties with emotion regulation are associated with physical and verbal IPV perpetration in a clinical sample. Although facets of emotion regulation emerged as significant predictors of IPV in the models, alcohol and PTSD symptom severity did not emerge as predictors of IPV. These findings suggest targeted emotion regulation skills training could benefit substance abusers who engage in IPV and that emotion dysregulation might be an important target for future research aimed at understanding elevated rates of IPV perpetration in mental health samples.     

Lessons from Examining Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence

Even though scientific and legal recognition of same-sex relationships has increased, same-sex intimate partner violence (IPV) has not been included in the core conceptualization of the research and theorizing about IPV. Because of its inherent disjuncture from the patriarchal and hetero-normative marriage model, battering in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community needs a much closer examination. Examining the violence that occurs in same-sex relationships allows us to reframe how we look at IPV and scrutinize the ideological frameworks, cultural narratives, and stereotypes that have been set forth as well investigate further the predictors of violence and the use of scales created. This article reviews the research on same-sex IPV primarily within the United States. In placing the lessons of same-sex IPV in the foreground, we are able to uncover some common truths about IPV in general. Viewing IPV through a same-sex lens removes gender-based assumptions about the manifestations of IPV, enabling us to see how other cultural and systemic factors may contribute to IPV. At the same time, incorporating the experience of same-sex couples facilitates viewing gender as a marker for variables requiring further study rather than as an explanation. When we change our focus of IPV in such a way, we discover it is a function of a complex interaction of culture, social structures, social status, and interpersonal dynamics.     

Attachment theory and group processes: the association between attachment style and group-related representations,goals, memories,and functioning

Four studies examined attachment-style differences in group-related cognitions and behaviors. In Studies 1-2, participants completed scales on group-related cognitions and emotions. In Studies 3-4, participants were divided into small groups, and their performance in group tasks as well as the cohesion of their group were assessed. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance in close relationships were associated with negative group-related cognitions and emotions. Anxiety was also related to the pursuit of closeness goals and impaired instrumental performance in group tasks. Avoidance was related to the pursuit of distance goals and deficits in socioemotional and instrumental performance. Group cohesion significantly moderated the effects of attachment anxiety. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory within group contexts.     

Men's heterosocial skill and attitudes toward women as predictors of verbal sexual coercion and forceful rape

This study assessed whether men's heterosocial skill and attitudes toward women are related to verbal and physical sexual coercion in a nonincarcerated population. We predicted that heterosocially skilled men would be more likely than unskilled men to have engaged in verbal sexual coercion, whereas unskilled men would be more likely than skilled men to have engaged in physical sexual coercion (i.e., forceful rape). We expected an interaction, with this pattern holding only for men who accepted traditional gender roles or male sexual dominance; men who did not accept these attitudes were expected to be unlikely to have engaged in either verbal or physical coercion. To identify sexually coercive men, we administered questionnaires to 1152 male introductory psychology students. They completed anonymous self-report measures of (a) heterosocial skill, (b) attitudes toward women, and (c) involvement with verbal and physical sexual coercion. Results showed that heterosocially skilled men were more likely than unskilled men to have engaged in verbal sexual coercion, but heterosocial skill was unrelated to forceful rape. Men who accepted traditional gender roles or male sexual dominance were more likely than other men to have engaged in both verbal sexual coercion and forceful rape. There were no interactions. Theoretical issues and treatment implications are discussed.The authors wish to thank Gayla Goolsby, Trudi Zaplac, Diane Collinge, Shelley Davis, Gina Benedicto, and DiAnne Poehl. This paper is based on the second author's Senior Honors Thesis, done as part of the Texas A&M University Undergraduate Fellows Program, which provided funding.     

Genetic and environmental influences on interpersonal cognitions and associations with depressive symptoms in 8-year-old twins

Less is known about depression in children than in adults. This study integrates fields by combining cognitive and interpersonal research investigating childhood depression symptoms through the use of a genetic framework. Three research questions are addressed. First, what are the associations among interpersonal cognitions, anxiety, and depression? Second, what are the relative magnitudes of genetic and environmental influences on interpersonal cognitions? Third, to what extent do genetic and environmental influences explain associations between interpersonal cognitions and depression? Three hundred pairs of 8-year-old twins reported on symptoms of depression and anxiety by completing the Children's Depression Inventory and the Screen for Childhood Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders. The authors examined interpersonal cognitions with the Children's Expectation of Social Behaviors and the Perceptions of Peers and Self Questionnaires. Interpersonal cognitions were more strongly correlated with depression (mean r = .35) than with anxiety (mean r = .13). Genetic influence on interpersonal cognitions was small (M = 3%), and associations between interpersonal cognitions and depression were mainly explained by environmental influences. These latter findings may result from interpersonal cognitions in young children, reflecting life experiences as opposed to trait-like cognitive biases.     

Verbal Sexual Coercion and Perceived Victim Responsibility: Mediating Effects of Perceived Control

Verbal coercion involves unwanted sexual penetration compelled by psychological pressure. It was hypothesized that, to the degree that verbal coercion is seen as controllable, victims may be held more responsible. Two samples of US undergraduates rated perceptions of hypothetical sexual coercion scenarios. In Study 1, participants (N = 120) read scenarios of either verbal coercion or rape by a male dating partner. Participants perceived verbal coercion as more controllable than rape, which accounted for the greater responsibility attributed to verbal coercion victims. In Study 2, participants (N = 275) read scenarios involving either male-to-female or female-to-male verbal coercion. Participants perceived female-to-male coercion as more controllable, which accounted for the greater responsibility attributed to a verbally coerced man.     

Women’s Income-generating Activity and Experiences of Economic Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Bangladesh

Sex Roles - Economic coercion is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is distinct from but often co-occurs with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV. Women’s experiences of...     

Substance use and partner violence among urban women seeking emergency care

Growing evidence suggests intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance misuse are co-occurring problems that disproportionately affect low income urban women seeking care in emergency departments (EDs) and represent leading causes of injuries that result in ED visits. This paper examines temporal bidirectional associations between different types of drug and alcohol use and different types of IPV in a longitudinal study of a representative sample of 241 low-income urban women receiving emergency care from an ED in the Bronx, New York. After adjusting and matching for sociodemographics and potentially confounding multilevel risk and protective covariates, women who reported using heroin in the prior 6 months at Wave 1 were twice as likely as nonheroin-using women to indicate any physical, injurious, or sexual IPV at subsequent waves and were 2.7 times more likely to indicate experiencing an injury from IPV at subsequent waves. Crack or cocaine use in the past 6 months at Wave 1 was associated with an increased likelihood of injurious IPV and severe verbal abuse at subsequent waves. Findings also suggested that sexual IPV was significantly associated with subsequent use of crack or cocaine. The multiple bidirectional associations found linking these problems underscore the need for conducting routine screening for IPV and substance misuse among women in low-income urban EDs, and for improving linkages to services that will ultimately reduce the risk of morbidity, disability, and mortality related to these co-occurring problems.     

Are Half of All IPV Perpetrators Women? Putting Context Back into the Intimate Partner Violence Research Field

For our field to truly understand women's use of IPV, it is crucial that the following three steps be taken by researchers to put context back into the equation: (a) incorporate the effects of multiple oppressions women face within the context of predominantly male offending across different types of violent criminal categories (top level); (b) integrate findings from both objective and subjective IPV research methods that will require elevating subjective approaches to the same status as objective (middle level); and (c) centralize the issue of ongoing patterns of coercion, power, and control within our definitions of IPV (individual level). Without such an embedded approach, our field will continue to divert much-needed resources toward the so-called gender symmetry debate and run the risk of helping to perpetuate further injustices against women.     

Interpersonal Style and Hypothetical Treatment Choice Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Individual differences between women victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV) may account for whether they choose to seek treatment and what kind of treatment they might prefer. Recent research has highlighted the importance of interpersonal warmth and dominance on women’s response to IPV, although this has not yet been extended to area of treatment choice in the aftermath of IPV victimization. In this study, we examined the association between interpersonal warmth and dominance on four choices of hypothetical treatment (individual therapy only, medication only, combined therapy and medication, and no treatment) in a sample of young adult women victimized by IPV (N = 117). Results indicated that the majority of women would choose therapy (with or without medication) and that interpersonal warmth was negatively associated, and dominance positively associated, with a preference for medication only. These findings extend previous research on both treatment choice and interpersonal style within the context of IPV.     

Risk Factors,Self-Attributions,and Adjustment Problems Among Victims of Sexual Coercion1

College women (N= 125) were surveyed about their experiences with sexual coercion. Forty-two percent of the sample reported one or more coercive incidents involving completed intercourse (26%) or attempted intercourse (16%). Only 6% of these incidents were reported to police or campus authorities. Of the victims, 92% knew their assailants, at least casually. A combination of demographic, sexual history, and personality characteristics predicted 21 % of the variance in experience with sexual coercion. The variables most highly associated with reported victimization were frequency of sexual activity and religiosity; women who were more sexually active and who attended religious services less often were more likely to report experiencing sexual coercion than were women who were less sexually active and who attended religious services more often. A combination of situational and attitudinal variables predicted 52% of the variance in victim attributions. The variables most highly correlated with attributions were degree of victim assertiveness and the type of force used by the assailant; less assertive women and women who had been coerced by the use of economic or psychological force made relatively more internal attributions about the coercion incidents they had been involved in than did women who were more assertive and women who had been coerced by means of physical force. Finally, a combination of situational and attitudinal variables predicted 34% of the variance in victim-reported adjustment problems following the coercion incident. The use of economic or psychological force, greater physical injury, and relative acceptance of interpersonal violence were associated with more severe adjustment problems, whereas the use of physical force, less physical injury, and relative rejection of interpersonal violence were associated with less severe adjustment problems. The implications of these results for the reduction of acquaintance assault and for the counseling of victims are discussed.     

Applying Differential Coercion and Social Support Theory to Police Officers’ Misconduct

The goal of this study is to test differential coercion and social support theory on police officers’ misconduct. Data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997–1999 are analyzed to test the propositions of the theory. Specifically, we test whether this theory can explain intimate partner violence (IPV) and problematic drinking perpetrated by police officers. Results indicated that two types of coercion (out of five) were significant in predicting IPV perpetration, while two alternate forms of coercion were significant in predicting problematic alcohol consumption. Anger was the only significant social–psychological deficit in predicting both dependent variables. Social support, mainly from family/friends and the department, only decreased the odds of problematic alcohol consumption. The current study provides further evidence that victimization continues to be one of the most consistent forms of coercion most likely to lead to criminal behavior.     

Predictors of the first onset of a major depressive episode and changes in depressive symptoms across adolescence: stress and negative cognitions

This 6-year longitudinal study examined stressors (e.g., interpersonal, achievement), negative cognitions (self-worth, attributions), and their interactions in the prediction of (a) the first onset of a major depressive episode (MDE), and (b) changes in depressive symptoms in adolescents who varied in risk for depression. The sample included 240 adolescents who were first evaluated in Grade 6 (M = 11.86 years old; SD = 0.57; 54.2% female) and then again annually through Grade 12. Stressful life events and depressive diagnoses were assessed with interviews; negative cognitions and depressive symptoms were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Discrete time hazard modeling revealed a significant interaction between interpersonal stressors and negative cognitions, indicating that first onset of an MDE was predicted by high negative cognitions in the context of low interpersonal stress, and by high levels of interpersonal stressors at both high and low levels of negative cognitions. Analyses of achievement stressors indicated significant main effects of stress, negative cognitions, and risk in the prediction of an MDE, but no interactions. With regard to the prediction of depressive symptoms, multilevel modeling revealed a significant interaction between interpersonal stressors and negative cognitions such that among adolescents with more negative cognitions, higher levels of interpersonal stress predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, whereas at low levels of negative cognitions, the relation between interpersonal stressors and depression was not significant. Risk (i.e., maternal depression history) and sex did not further moderate these interactions. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

Development and validation of the Moral Outcomes of Relationship Aggression Scale: A measure of moral distress following intimate partner violence perpetration

Research with military veterans has established that distress may arise in response to perpetrating violent behaviors that violate individuals' moral beliefs. To date, no studies have similarly examined morally-related cognitive and emotional responses specifically among intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators. However, research on moral cognitions and emotions in response to IPV perpetration may inform understanding of the behavior and potential mechanisms for intervention. In the current series of four studies, we used classical test theory to develop a measure of moral distress following IPV perpetration that focuses on thoughts about the actions (assimilated cognitions), thoughts about the self due to one's actions (accommodated cognitions), and emotions experienced due to one's actions (moral emotions). Items were developed and tested among two samples of undergraduate students, and psychometric properties of the final measure were confirmed among two community samples. The final measure consists of three subscales consisting of five items each. Results demonstrate support for internal consistency and test–retest reliability, convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity, and factor structure. This measure can be used in future research designed to examine how individuals respond to their IPV perpetration, and to study the implications this may have for long-term outcomes and behavioral change.     

Correlates of condom use and condom‐use motivation among young South Africans

A survey of South African secondary school students aged 12–17 years (n = 893) included measures designed to investigate relationships between beliefs about HIV/AIDS, condom use, interpersonal relationships, and two dependent measures: motivation to use condoms and reported condom use. We predicted that motivation would be an important correlate of reported condom use and that traditional cultural beliefs included in social cognition models would predict condom use motivation. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that 10% of the variance in reported condom use was accounted for by condom use motivation and age. Condom self‐efficacy, beliefs about condoms and injunctive norms accounted for much of the variance. Other beliefs included susceptibility to HIV and attribution of HIV to asexual sources such as witchcraft indicating that an expanded model of modifiable cognitions may be optimal when designing HIV interventions among young South Africans.