Decades of research have been dedicated to understanding intimate partner violence. A recent form of intimate partner violence is digital dating abuse, which involves electronic intrusion in romantic relationships. Previous research has focused on the effects of digital dating abuse on victims, yet little research has focused on the factors which drive the perpetration of digital dating abuse, especially from an evolutionary perspective. Recent research has focused on whether mating-relevant factors such as mate value discrepancy predict the perpetration of digital dating abuse, suggesting digital dating abuse could be a mate retention tactic. Here, we replicated and extended that finding in two independent samples (study 1, n=177; Study 2, n=134) by showing large mate value discrepancies positively predict digital dating abuse, therefore suggesting that digital dating abuse could be a contemporary cost-inflicting mate retention strategy. We also explored whether intrasexual competition, self-esteem, and experience of previous infidelity predicted the perpetration of digital dating abuse, finding no significant relationships. These findings from two studies, replicate, extend, and provide further support that digital dating abuse is a mate retention tactic. This research advances our understanding of digital dating abuse from an evolutionary psychological perspective.

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.