Self-Control and Emotional and Verbal Aggression in Dating Relationships: A Dyadic Understanding

Sociological Theories to Explain Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a highly prevalent public health challenge and human rights violation. Sociological theories address social structures to understand prevalence and dynamics of IPV against women. This systematic review aims (1) to identify, describe, categorize, and synthesize sociological theories that account for predictors of IPV against women, and (2) to compare and contrast sociological theories of predictors of IPV against women. Following a structured search of nine electronic databases, members of the review team screened title/abstract and full texts against inclusion and exclusion criteria, to identify studies that engaged with theory/ies of predictors of IPV. Review team members extracted data according to a data extraction template developed for the review. Results are presented using a narrative synthesis approach. Following review of 108 included articles, included articles were grouped into sub-theories. The sub-theories provide differing, yet overlapping, accounts of predictors of male perpetration of IPV and women's experience of IPV. Sociological theories primarily engage with exo- and macro-system levels of the social-ecological framework, yet some also address structural influences on individual behaviors. This systematic review fills a gap in theoretical syntheses of sociological theories of predictors of male-perpetrated IPV against women and also provides critical analysis of how these theories overlap and intersect. While sociological theories may not be able to fully explain all aspects of dynamics of male-perpetrated IPV against women, this overview indicates that there are several compelling components of sociological theory that hold explanatory power for comprehending how, where, and why IPV occurs.

The Relationships Between Tendency to Aggression, Self-control, Mindfulness, and Happiness in Students of the Faculty of Health Sciences

Objectives: Previous studies focus on variables that reduce violence such as mindfulness, self-control, and happiness, but do not cover these relationships in a single study, creating a gap in the literature. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationships between aggression and these 3 variables in health science undergraduate students at a state university in Turkey. Methods: Students completed the aggression questionnaire, the Oxford happiness questionnaire short version, the brief self-control scale, and the mindful attention awareness scale. Results: In correlational analysis, only verbal aggression and happiness did not show a relationship. The result of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the most significant predictors that explained total aggression and aggression subscales were mindfulness and self-control, respectively. However, happiness did not have a significant link to either total aggression or subscales of aggression (except for hostility). Conclusions: The results emphasize that mindfulness and self-control may play important roles in reducing aggression. This study reveals the need for further analysis of the relationships between happiness and aggression and its subscales. Other implications are discussed.

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Sexual Activity and Dating Violence: The Role of Satisfaction, Jealousy, and Self-control

While research has shown that sexual intercourse within a relationship is positively associated with physical intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, particularly among young adults, whether well-known correlates of IPV moderate this relationship and whether these effects are gendered is less known. We draw on data from the International Dating Violence Study (2001-2006; n = 5,502) to more thoroughly explore sexual activity in a relationship on the risk for dating violence perpetration among college students in heterosexual relationships. First, the relationship between sexual activity and physical IPV is examined. Second, this study examines the role of sexual satisfaction/disagreement on IPV among sexually active participants as a potential mechanism by which sexual activity impacts IPV. Third, this study examines whether jealousy and self-control, two well-known correlates of IPV, moderate the relationship between sexual activity and IPV. For all analyses, gendered effects were examined. We found that sexual activity was positively related to overall and severe (i.e., potentially injurious) IPV perpetration and the effects were comparable between men and women. Likewise, although there was gender symmetry in the main effects of jealousy, results demonstrate that the interaction between intimacy and jealousy was gendered. Conversely, self-control was related to IPV comparably for men and women but did not moderate the effects of intimacy. Sexual satisfaction was unrelated to IPV perpetration for men and women, but women who report disagreement over frequency of intercourse reported higher offending. The theoretical implications of the current study are discussed as well as avenues for prevention and intervention programming, including collaborative, campus-based approaches to both violence prevention, healthy relationships, and sexual decision-making.

Intimate Partner Violence and Couple Conflict Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Drug Use Problem Severity

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a maladaptive conflict behavior, and IPV is both a precipitant and consequence of drug use problems among couples. It is unknown how drug use problem severity modulates the association between IPV and observed conflict behaviors. As part of a larger clinical trial, a sample of 30 different-sex substance-misusing couples completed self-report questionnaires and participated in a laboratory conflict resolution task. The current exploratory study tested whether drug use severity moderated the association between IPV perpetration and positive and negative conflict resolution behaviors, respectively, while controlling for IPV victimization. The results suggest that among men, drug use severity moderates the association between psychological IPV perpetration and negative conflict behaviors. Men who report more severe IPV display more negative behaviors when their drug use problems are more severe. Among women, drug use severity moderated the effect between psychological IPV perpetration and negative conflict behaviors among women, such that women with lower drug use problem severity displayed more negative conflict behaviors when psychological IPV perpetration was more versus less severe. Drug use severity also moderated the association between physical IPV perpetration and negative and positive conflict behaviors among women. That is, women who reported more severe physical IPV displayed more negative and fewer positive behaviors when their drug use problems were more severe. Results have preliminary implications for targeting conflict resolution strategies differentially in men and women with drug use and a history of IPV perpetration. Future studies should replicate the current findings in larger, more representative samples, and examine the role specific drugs have on the association between IPV and conflict behaviors.

Does state self-control depletion predict relationship functioning and partner aggression? An ecological momentary assessment study of community couples

Intimate relationship functioning depends upon the ability to accommodate one's partner and to inhibit retaliatory and aggressive impulses when disagreements arise. However, accommodation and inhibition may be difficult when self-control strength is weak or depleted by prior exertion of self-control. The present study considered whether state self-control depletion prospectively predicts male and female self-reports of anger with partner and arguing with partner. Consistent with the I³ Model (Finkel, 2014, Adv Exp Soc Psychol, 49, 1-104), we also considered whether the association between elevated anger and arguing (i.e., instigation) and partner aggression was stronger when state self-control (i.e., inhibition) was depleted or among people high in negative urgency. In this ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, heavy drinking married and cohabiting heterosexual couples (N = 191) responded to three randomly signaled reports each day for 30 days. Depletion predicted anger and arguing with partners both cross-sectionally and prospectively for men and women. However, after controlling for prior levels of anger and arguing, these effects were diminished, and supplemental analyses revealed that anger and arguing with partner predicted subsequent depletion. Anger and arguing were strongly associated with concurrent reports of partner aggression perpetration and victimization (verbal and/or physical). However, neither state self-control depletion nor negative urgency moderated these effects. Overall, results suggest a modest impact of depletion on daily couple functioning as well as a potential cyclical effect of arguing on depletion.

The Effects of a Health Care-Based Brief Intervention on Dating Abuse Perpetration: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Dating abuse (DA) is prevalent and consequential, yet there are no evidence-based interventions for the health care setting that prevent perpetration. The current study's purpose was to test a one-session brief motivational interview-style intervention to decrease DA perpetration. We conducted a two-arm RCT of the Real Talk intervention with follow-up at 3 and 6 months. Participants were 172 youth ages 15-19 years old, recruited from the pediatric emergency department or outpatient care services of an urban hospital in the USA in 2014-2017. The primary outcome was change in self-reported DA perpetration, including subtypes of DA such as physical, sexual, psychological, and cyber DA. Youth in both intervention and control arms reduced DA perpetration over time. GEE models indicated no overall intervention effects for any, physical, sexual, or psychological DA. There were overall effects for cyber DA (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.27, 0.87). There were also effects at 3 months for psychological DA (RR 0.24, 95% CI 0.06, 0.93) and cyber DA (RR 0.39, 95% CI 0.19, 0.79). Analyses stratified by gender also found overall effects for males for any DA (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.07, 0.55), physical DA (RR 0.30, 95% CI 0.10, 0.89), and cyber DA (RR 0.04, 95% CI 0.01, 0.27). For males, intervention effects on any DA persisted to 6 months (RR 0.13, 95% CI 0.02, 1.01). This health care-based one-session DA intervention is a potentially promising approach to reduce DA perpetration among adolescents.Clinical trial registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02080923.