Hostility, flooding, and relationship satisfaction: Predicting trajectories of psychological aggression across the transition to parenthood

Abstract

Psychological aggression has been shown to have harmful effects on both partners, sometimes above and beyond the effects of physical aggression. However, very little is known about psychological aggression during the transition to parenthood. The transition to parenthood is a time where relationship satisfaction often declines and stress increases, which may put the couples at higher risk for psychological aggression. The purpose of this study was to examine if prenatal risk factors related to interpersonal style (specifically, emotional flooding and hostility) predict changes in psychological aggression from pregnancy to 2 years postpartum. Ninety eight couples took part in this study. The couples completed self-report questionnaires during pregnancy, 1 year postpartum, and 2 years postpartum. Both partners were asked about perpetrating and experiencing psychological aggression in their current relationship. Two level Hierarchical Linear Models (HLMs) were used to examine longitudinal associations between hostility, flooding, and psychological aggression. For women, hostility during pregnancy was a significant longitudinal predictor of psychological aggression. For men, flooding was a significant longitudinal predictor of psychological aggression. For both men and women, relationship satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between flooding/hostility and psychological aggression, indicating that women's hostile attitudes and men's tendency to be flooded tend to erode relationship quality, leading to increases in psychological aggression. This may represent a classic demand-withdraw dynamic in couples. The results indicate hostility for women and flooding for men are potential prenatal risk factors for future psychological aggression. Implications and future research directions are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 42:134-148, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relationship dissatisfaction as a mediator for the link between attachment insecurity and psychological aggression over the transition to parenthood.

“…We currently know little about the trajectory of psychological IPV over the transition to parenthood; however, previously published data from the current study found that men’s and women’s reports of psychological IPV remained relatively stable from pregnancy to two years postpartum (Sotskova, Woodin, & Gou, 2014). The extant literature has demonstrated the deleterious effects that exposure to parents’ psychological IPV has on children’s adjustment (Harold, Shelton, Goeke-Morey, & Cummings, 2004; Jenkins & Smith, 1991; Katz & Woodin, 2002).…”

Adult attachment, hostile conflict, and relationship adjustment among couples facing multiple sclerosis

“…The actor effect between avoidant attachment and dyadic adjustment for women was mediated by actor hostile conflict; however, the same pattern was only marginally significant for men. Studies of hostility are consistent with this gender difference (Baron et al ., ; Oka et al ., ; Sotskova et al ., ). For example, a prospective study found that greater female hostility predicted worse female dyadic adjustment, while greater male hostility failed to significantly predict worse male dyadic adjustment (Baron et al ., ).…”

“…Hostility and anger appear to forecast relationship dissatisfaction, in both cross‐sectional (Oka, Whiting, & Reifman, ; Renshaw, Blais, & Smith, ; Sotskova, Woodin, & Gou, ) and longitudinal study designs (Baron et al ., ; Lorenz, Hraba, & Pechacova, ). Significant within‐person and cross‐dyadic effects have been found between hostility and relationship adjustment (Baron et al ., ; Oka et al ., ; Renshaw et al ., ).…”

The interrelationship between sleep disturbance symptoms and aggression before and after the campus closure of the COVID-19 pandemic: insight from a cross-lagged panel network model

“…The most critical node in the networks of waves 1 and 2 was hostility, a psychological dimension of aggression known for its more detrimental impact on interpersonal relationships compared to physical aggression ( 62 ). Notably, hostility served as the connecting link between aggression and sleep disturbance in both waves, consistent with the findings of Sun et al ( 63 ).…”