Online Mate-Retention Tactics on Facebook Are Associated With Relationship Aggression

Social Media Friendship Jealousy

A new measure to assess friendship jealousy in the context of social media was developed. This one-factor, seven-item measure was psychometrically sound, showing evidence of validity and reliability in three samples of North American adults (Study 1, n = 491; Study 2, n = 494; Study 3, n = 415) and one-, two-, and three-year stability (Study 3). Women reported more social media friendship jealousy than men (Studies 2 and 3) and younger women had the highest levels of social media friendship jealousy (compared with younger men and older men and women; Study 2). Social media friendship jealousy was associated with lower friendship quality (Study 1) and higher social media use and trait jealousy (Study 2). The relation between social media friendship jealousy and internalizing symptoms indicated positive within time associations and longitudinal bidirectional relations (Study 3). Specifically, social media friendship jealousy predicted increases in internalizing problems, and internalizing problems predicted greater social media friendship jealousy accounting for gender and trait levels of social media friendship jealousy and internalizing problems. Anxious and depressed adults may be predisposed to monitor threats to their friendships via social media and experience negative consequences because of this behavior. Although social media interactions can be associated with positive well-being and social connectedness, our results highlight that they can also undermine friendships and mental health due to jealousy.

The Role of Mating-relevant Factors in the Perpetration of Digital Dating Abuse

Previous research has explored offline intimate partner violence from an evolutionary perspective, primarily focusing on the role of individual differences in perpetration and victimization. However, a current form of intimate partner violence is digital dating abuse, which involves abuse toward a romantic partner, occuring online through the use of electronic communication technology. This form of abuse differs from offline abuse, in that physical proximity is not required. Although research has focused on the effects digital dating abuse has on victims, little research has focused on the perpetration of digital dating abuse. This is important as research focused on perpetration can inform a wide range of initiatives geared toward understanding the factors which drive this behavior. Recent research has focused on evolutionary mating-relevant factors that drive the perpetration of digital dating abuse. Here, we extended and replicated previous work by reporting two studies (study 1, n = 114; study 2, n = 162) which explored the roles of mate value discrepancy, intrasexual competition, and relationship-contingent self-esteem in the perpetration of digital dating abuse. We found that mate value discrepancy (studies 1 and 2) and intrasexual competition (study 2) positively predicted the perpetration of digital dating abuse. To our knowledge, this article is the first to provide support that those who report high intrasexual competition, engage in greater levels of digital dating abuse, thus furthering theoretical advancements in this field by showing digital dating abuse is a mate retention tactic. Our findings further our understanding of online behavior in romantic relationships through an evolutionary psychological lens.

An Evidence Synthesis of Covert Online Strategies Regarding Intimate Partner Violence

This systematic review synthesizes evidence of how people use the internet to deploy covert strategies around escaping from, or perpetrating, intimate partner violence (IPV). Online tools and services can facilitate individuals leaving abusive relationships, yet they can also act as a barrier to departure. They may also enable abusive behaviors. A comprehensive literature search of published and unpublished studies in electronic databases was conducted. Two researchers independently screened abstracts and full texts for study eligibility and evaluated the quality of included studies. The systematic review includes 22 studies (9 qualitative and 11 cross-sectional studies, a randomized control trial [RCT] and a nonrandomized study [NRS]) published between 2004 and 2017. Four covert behaviors linked to covert online strategies around IPV were identified: presence online, granular control, use of digital support tools and services, and stalking and surveillance. The same technology that provides individuals with easy access to information and supportive services related to IPV, such as digital devices, tools, and services, also enables perpetrators to monitor or harass their partners. This review takes a rigorous interdisciplinary approach to synthesizing knowledge on the covert strategies adopted by people in relation to IPV. It has particular relevance to practitioners who support survivors in increasing awareness of the role of digital technologies in IPV, to law enforcement agencies in identifying new forms of evidence of abuse, and in enabling designers of online/social media applications to take the needs and vulnerabilities of IPV survivors into account.

Evaluating Female Experiences of Electronic Dating Violence in Jordan: Motivations, Consequences, and Coping Strategies

Gender stereotypes can influence electronic dating violence (EDV) because the victims' experiences with abusers depict crucial social mechanisms concerning relational dependency and unequal power relations between men and women, making it difficult for women to resist, report, or escape cyber abuse. In the Arab context, cyber abuse in romantic relationships has not been sufficiently examined. This study investigated female experiences of EDV through a qualitative exploratory descriptive approach. Participants experienced several short- and long-term negative psychological and emotional behavioral responses. Our findings validate that EDV heightened the probability of intimate partner violence definitively via psychological, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse. Their resistance strategies differed according to the extent and nature of the abuse. None of the participants sought help from family due to fear of being killed or forced out of university, and realizing that they would continue to experience multiple forms of abuse. Rather, they either sought help from female professors at the university or paid the abuser to be left alone. Further, they engaged in protective behaviors to block their abusive partner's access to them, consulted an Information Technology expert, and secretly requested assistance from the police. Preference for controlling and dominant roles, gaining monetary benefits, sexual exploitation, peer pressure, and revenge and anger due to abandonment were the leading motivations for abuse. Female students in their first year of university, those who lived in a disjointed family environment, or those who suffered abuse from their families were particularly susceptible to being victimized. Moreover, passwords shared with others or accounts left open on others' devices also enabled EDV. Hence, universities must conduct awareness sessions, for female students, on how to manage emotions and safe communication on social media and build healthy friendships and relationships. Curricula, seminars, workshops, and courses in the Jordanian educational sector should include programs and interventions that challenge perceived gender norms. These results have significant practical and clinical implications that help understand EDV in a poorly understood context and provide the groundwork for further research on the EDV problem in Jordan, addressing a lacuna in the literature on violence against Jordanian women.

Alcohol Problems, Jealousy, and Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration Among Men and Women: Toward a Conceptual Model

Investigations of alcohol use in relation to cyber dating abuse (CDA) remain underdeveloped relative to alcohol-related face-to-face dating abuse research. A critical step toward advancing this area of research would include examining the applicability of alcohol-related partner abuse models to CDA perpetration. Existing models of alcohol-related partner abuse suggested that alcohol and partner abuse are more likely to co-occur in the presence of aggressogenic distal traits. We propose that this model may extend to CDA perpetration. Toward this end, the present study collected cross-sectional data from college students (N = 258; 56.2% male) to investigate whether trait romantic jealousy moderated the association between alcohol problems and CDA perpetration, controlling for face-to-face dating abuse perpetration. We hypothesized that alcohol problems would positively relate to CDA perpetration among college students with high, but not low, romantic jealousy. We explored whether the interactive effect varied by sex. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction; the moderating role of romantic jealousy in the relation between alcohol problems and CDA perpetration varied by sex. Alcohol problems positively related to CDA perpetration for women with high, but not low, romantic jealousy. Alcohol problems did not relate to CDA perpetration regardless of men's level of romantic jealousy. These preliminary results suggested that alcohol-related partner abuse models may be useful for conceptualizing CDA perpetration and identifying CDA intervention components.

A Longitudinal Examination of Alcohol Problems and Cyber, Psychological, and Physical Dating Abuse: The Moderating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

Given the prevalence of technology, cyber dating abuse (DA) emerged as an important area of empirical inquiry. Cross-sectional data linked cyber DA perpetration to alcohol problems and psychological and physical DA perpetration. However, the longitudinal relations among these constructs are unknown. DA theory and research suggested that higher levels of aggressogenic traits (e.g., emotion dysregulation) increased the likelihood that alcohol problems and DA co-occur; this conceptual model may extend to cyber DA. We collected self-report data from 578 college students at baseline (T1) and 3 months later (T2) to test the hypothesis that T1 alcohol problems would predict T2 psychological, physical, and cyber DA for students with high, but not low, emotion dysregulation. We also hypothesized that T1 cyber DA would predict T2 psychological and physical DA. We conducted path analyses in Mplus and used the Johnson-Neyman technique to probe significant interactions. Results indicated that alcohol problems predicted psychological and physical DA for college students with high and average emotion dysregulation only. Alcohol problems did not predict cyber DA independently or in conjunction with emotion dysregulation. Cyber DA predicted psychological and physical DA. Results extend DA conceptualizations and highlight the importance of targeting emotion dysregulation in college DA intervention programs.

The Hyperperception Model: When Your Partner's New Friends Inspire Jealousy and Failing to Use Social Distancing

The hyperperception model was used to derive hypotheses concerning the processes by which people experience romantic jealousy because of their observation of their romantic partners on social network sites. The main focus was on the receiver component of the model that specifies that when observation of others' interactions is constrained to social media, those interactions appear more intimate than when the dyad is also observable offline. A survey (N = 322) was conducted to test this component of the model and determine if the model can predict additional phenomena such as possession signals and staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were generally consistent with the hypotheses and the utility of the hyperperception model for understanding the effects of observing romantic partners' interactions on social media. The data also reveal the importance of interpersonal processes in obeying social distancing guidelines.

Instagrowth: A Longitudinal Growth Mixture Model of Social Media Time Use Across Adolescence

This study examined differential patterns of time spent using social media in a sample of 457 adolescents over a 6-year period. The majority of adolescents (83%), termed moderate users, reported steady social media use over time. A second group (increasers: 12%) reported low social media use that increased gradually and ended high at the end of the study. A third group, called peak users (6%), reported low social media that increased quickly after a few years and then returned to baseline levels. Low self-regulation predicted being an increaser or peak user. Being a moderate user tended to be related to lower levels of depression, aggression, delinquency, social media problems, and cyberbullying across time, as compared with the other groups.

The Relationship Among Stigma Consciousness, Perfectionism, and Mental Health in Engaging and Retaining STEM Women

As research on retention for working women matures, it is necessary to identify particular factors that influence work satisfaction for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study collected data on 249 women who had worked 11.51 years on average in STEM. To investigate retention, we modeled the relationship between perfectionism, depression, and stigma consciousness on work engagement and intention-to-leave one’s job using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Depression, stigma consciousness, and perceived lack of comparable pay positively predicted greater intent to leave one’s job, with a perfectionistic mind-set representing a nonsignificant predictor. In terms of reported work engagement, depression, perfectionistic discrepancy, and stigma consciousness were significant negative predictors, while having perfectionistic high standards positively predicted work engagement. For work engagement, lack of comparable pay was a nonsignificant predictor. Implications and future directions for culturally responsive and intersectional research on the psychological and occupational functioning of STEM women are discussed.

Trait Jealousy Moderates the Relationship Between Alcohol Problems and Intimate Partner Violence Among Men in Batterer Intervention Programs

Informed by alcohol myopia theory and Leonard's heuristic model of intimate partner violence (IPV), we hypothesized that alcohol problems would positively relate to IPV among men with high, but not low, trait jealousy. We collected cross-sectional, self-report data from 74 men arrested for domestic violence and court-ordered to batterer intervention programs (BIP). Alcohol problems positively related to physical and sexual IPV among men with high, but not low, trait jealousy. Results provide preliminary support for the need for BIP to target both jealousy-related cognitions and alcohol problems. Future research should investigate jealousy in relation to alcohol-related IPV.

Facebook Use, Facebook Jealousy, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

Social networking sites (SNS) are now deeply ingrained in our interpersonal world. Past research has shown various impacts of SNS on intimate relationships, from facilitation of relationship initiation to new sources of conflicts between romantic partners. In two studies, we examined Facebook-related jealousy as a risk factor for the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in adolescents and young adults. In study 1, 1508 participants completed an online survey assessing Facebook use, Facebook jealousy, and IPV perpetration. Facebook jealousy emerged as a significant mediator of the association between Facebook use and IPV. In study 2, we used a dyadic perspective to investigate the joint contribution of both partners' Facebook jealousy to IPV perpetration. In a sample of 92 youth (46 couples), results showed a significant interaction between own and partner Facebook jealousy. More specifically, own Facebook jealousy was associated with IPV perpetration only at high levels of partner Facebook jealousy. These findings suggest that online behaviors have meaningful implications for offline conflicts and aggression in intimate relationships.

Dispositional Mindfulness as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Partner Infidelity and Women's Dating Violence Perpetration

Mindfulness gained increased attention as it relates to aggressive behavior, including dating violence. However, no known studies examined how the combined influences of dispositional mindfulness and perceived partner infidelity, a well-documented correlate of dating violence, relate to women's dating violence perpetration. Using a sample of college women ( N = 203), we examined the relationship between perceived partner infidelity and physical dating violence perpetration at varying levels of dispositional mindfulness, controlling for the influence of alcohol use. Results indicated perceived partner infidelity and dating violence perpetration were positively related for women with low and mean dispositional mindfulness, but not for women with high dispositional mindfulness. These results further support the applicability of mindfulness theory in the context of dating violence. Implications of the present findings provide preliminary support for mindfulness intervention in relationships characterized by infidelity concerns.

Gender matters: Experiences and consequences of digital dating abuse victimization in adolescent dating relationships

Digital dating abuse (DDA) behaviors include the use of digital media to monitor, control, threaten, harass, pressure, or coerce a dating partner. In this study, 703 high school students reported on the frequency of DDA victimization, whether they were upset by these incidents, and how they responded. Results suggest that although both girls and boys experienced DDA at similar rates of frequency (with the exception of sexual coercion), girls reported that they were more upset by these behaviors. Girls also expressed more negative emotional responses to DDA victimization than boys. Although DDA is potentially harmful for all youth, gender matters. These findings suggest that the experience and consequences of DDA may be particularly detrimental for girls.