No abstract

It is well established that technology can be used to enact intimate partner violence (IPV). However, less is known about how cyber dating abuse (CDA) is associated with psychosocial functioning, especially when accounting for other forms of frequently co-occurring IPV victimization. The current study sought to determine the unique associations of CDA victimization when controlling for multiple forms of in-person IPV victimization. Two hundred seventy-eight men and women between 17 and 25 years of age ( M = 20.5, SD = 1.9) who were currently in an intimate relationship for at least 3 months participated in this study. Participants completed questionnaires about their IPV and CDA victimization, as well as a range of indices of psychosocial well-being. Experiencing CDA victimization was related to increased alcohol use for both men and women, and increased fear of partner for women, even after controlling for in-person IPV. For depression, perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, quality of life, social support, and post-traumatic stress, CDA victimization did not predict levels above in-person IPV victimization. Although these results suggest some unique associations between CDA victimization and aspects of psychosocial well-being that require further attention, they also highlight that CDA often occurs within a broader pattern of abuse that includes in-person IPV. These results suggest that the need for prevention and treatment for relationships that involve in-person abuse is still most salient, and that a narrow focus on CDA may limit the utility of prevention and treatment efforts. Further work is needed to integrate research on in-person and CDA victimization, rather than to create a new field of research and practice based solely on CDA.

A key criticism of research on intimate partner violence (IPV) is that a sole focus on physical or psychological acts of aggression fails to account for other forms of manipulative behavior that may have serious consequences for partner and family functioning. The current study examines coercive control, or behavior designed to constrain or compel an intimate partner in some way, in a longitudinal community sample of 98 heterosexual couples assessed in the third trimester of pregnancy as well as at 1 and 2 years postpartum. We found that the majority of couples reported at least some coercive controlling behavior during the transition to parenthood, that coercive control was highly bi-directional between partners, and that women were more likely than men to engage in coercive control before parenthood. Using multilevel actorpartner interdependence modeling, we found that women's coercive control predicted their own as well as men's perpetration of IPV across the transition to parenthood.Controlling for IPV perpetration by both partners, women's coercive control was longitudinally predictive of men's depression, harmful alcohol use, relationship dissatisfaction, poor co-parenting, low perceived parenting competence, and perceptions of toddler problem behavior. Men's coercive control was longitudinally predictive of women's relationship dissatisfaction and parenting stress, as well as women's perceptions of infant problem behavior. Men's coercive control was associated with their own use of ineffective parenting behavior. These findings suggest that coercive control is common in community samples during the transition to parenthood and that coercive control predicts lower early family functioning. K E Y W O R D Sactor-partner interdependence modeling, coercive control, intimate partner violence, parenting, transition to parenthood

These themes connect strongly with benevolent sexism, providing evidence that abortion is still a stigmatized procedure. This stigma has shifted from viewing women who have abortions in an overtly negative way to viewing them as pitiable and poor decision makers.

Background: The number of autistic individuals attending college or university is increasing, yet graduation rates are low as postsecondary environments often fail to support autistic students' individual needs. Peer mentorship programs are emerging as a promising approach for providing individualized, one-on-one support to meet this service gap for autistic postsecondary students. However, no literature has systematically described these programs. Methods: We conducted a systematic review that described existing peer mentorship programs for autistic students in postsecondary education as well as their effectiveness. Results: Our search of five databases found nine unique programs that were evaluated in 11 peer-reviewed articles. Programs reported positive outcomes in various domains, which included social skills, academic performance, and sense of belonging. The evidence for these programs was primarily qualitative, sample sizes were small, and there was considerable heterogeneity in the format, provision, and goals of these programs, as well as the evaluation methods used. Conclusions: Overall, the state of the research related to the efficacy of peer mentorship programs for autistic students remains in its infancy, and further research is needed to quantify effectiveness and enable program comparisons.