An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

Abstract

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.

Can college students use emotion regulation strategies to alter intimate partner aggression-risk behaviors? An examination using I³ theory.

“…Several studies have linked the dysregulation of emotion to impulsive-type aggression (Davidson, Putnam, & Larson, 2000;Strüber, Lück, & Roth, 2008), similar to that occurring in IPA, as well as IPA perpetration specifically (McNulty & Hellmuth, 2008). Findings that IPA perpetrators experience difficulties with emotion regulation (Gratz, Paulson, Jakupcak, & Tull, 2009;Shorey, Brasfield, Febres, & Stuart, 2011a;Stuart et al, 2006) suggest that regulation of negative affect in response to instigating triggers may be an important factor contributing to IPA. For example, problems controlling emotional impulses and believing one has limited approaches to managing negative affect are related to increased IPA perpetration by men (Gratz & Roemer, 2004;Shorey et al, 2011a;Tager, Good, & Brammer, 2010).…”

“…Findings that IPA perpetrators experience difficulties with emotion regulation (Gratz, Paulson, Jakupcak, & Tull, 2009;Shorey, Brasfield, Febres, & Stuart, 2011a;Stuart et al, 2006) suggest that regulation of negative affect in response to instigating triggers may be an important factor contributing to IPA. For example, problems controlling emotional impulses and believing one has limited approaches to managing negative affect are related to increased IPA perpetration by men (Gratz & Roemer, 2004;Shorey et al, 2011a;Tager, Good, & Brammer, 2010). Similarly, in a sample of newlywed couples, Mc-Nulty and Hellmuth (2008) found that husbands' variability in past-week negative affect was related to increased IPA perpetration by the husband.…”

“…Together, these findings suggest that the inability to regulate negative emotions plays a role in promoting partner aggression. In fact, some authors speculate that IPA perpetrators use aggression as an ineffective way of regulating negative emotions (Gratz et al, 2009;Shorey et al, 2011a). If this is the case, then interventions designed to help individuals manage negative affect in the context of couple conflict may reduce IPA occurrence.…”

Current Status of the Anger Avoidance Model: Recent Empirical Findings and Treatment Considerations

“…First, early aversive histories/childhood maltreatment has been shown to be a direct predictor of deficits in emotion regulation [25][26][27] as suggested by the AAM. Second, consistent with the AAM hypothesis that deficits in emotion regulation would be central to understanding the relationship between anger and violent behaviour, studies have confirmed the important role of deficits in emotion regulation in the understanding and prediction of violent behaviour [18,19,[28][29][30][31][32]. Finally, and of significance, a recent study confirmed that while childhood maltreatment, early maladaptive schemas, deficits in emotion regulation, and the experience of anger together contribute to the manifestation of violence within relationships, consistent with the AAM, deficits in emotion regulation was found to be the essential pathway by which childhood maltreatment results in the manifestation of violence [19].…”

The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on Lab-Based Partner Aggression

“…The dysregulation of emotion is associated with impulsive aggression (Davidson, Putnam, & Larson, 2000;Strüber, Lück & Roth, 2008) and the dysregulation of negative emotion specifically has been linked to IPA perpetration (McNulty & Hellmuth, 2008). In addition, research demonstrates that greater difficulties with emotion regulation are related to greater IPA perpetration among both men and women (Berzenski & Yates, 2010;Gratz et al, 2009;Shorey, Brasfield, Febres, & Stuart, 2011;Shorey, Cornelius, & Idema, 2011;Watkins, Maldonado, & DiLillo, in press). Specifically, individuals who have greater difficulties controlling impulses when upset and report more limited strategies in managing negative emotions also report perpetrating greater IPA perpetration (Gratz & Roemer, 2004;Shorey, Cornelius et al, 2011;Watkins et al, in press).…”