Observed Emotional Expressivity, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Community Couples

Abstract

Impaired emotional processes are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are implicated in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. To address the interpersonal context of PTSD, emotion, and IPV, we examined interactions among one's own and one's partner's emotional expressivity and PTSD symptom severity in association with IPV perpetration. Heterosexual couples (N = 56) in which at least one partner met screening criteria for PTSD engaged in two video-recorded discussions about negative and positive aspects of their relationships. Videos were coded for observed emotional expressiveness during moments participants reported experiencing significant emotions. Actor-partner interdependence models revealed few main effects of emotional expressivity, except that women's expressivity of positive emotions was positively associated with men's IPV perpetration, r = .14. Emotional expressivity played a larger role among couples managing PTSD symptoms; that is, the association between one's own PTSD symptom severity and more IPV perpetration was stronger among men who expressed more negative emotions, r = .19, and women who expressed fewer negative emotions, r = .21. Several partner effects suggested the importance of understanding the dyadic nature of these constructs. For example, men's PTSD symptom severity was differentially associated with each partners' IPV perpetration based on women's expressivity of positive emotion, r = .22-.27. Understanding of emotional expressivity in the link between PTSD and IPV must include consideration of gender differences in how these constructs operate interpersonally. Strategies to promote moderate and safe communication of positive and negative emotions may prevent IPV escalation, particularly among couples managing PTSD symptoms.

Can emotional expressivity and writing content predict beneficial effects of expressive writing among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy? A secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial data from China

“…The present study showed that BC patients who used more negative emotional words reported lower levels of QOL over time, which is supported by Niles et al (2016), who identified that negative emotional word use was significantly positively correlated with increased depression. Sullivan, Leifker, and Marshall (2018) found that men's posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity was associated with the expressivity of negative emotions. Our findings are also in accordance with the results by Pennebaker and Chung (2007), who reported that very high negative word use was associated with less benefit from EW.…”

The Relationship Between Trait Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Expressiveness, and Hopelessness Among Women Who Experience Domestic Violence

“…By expressing emotion, people assert their needs, feelings, and able to shape the environment. Previous study reveals that abused women who express emotions more, especially positive emotions, reported lower PTSD symptoms [8]. Expressing emotions also correlated to happiness and satisfaction in daily activities [9].…”

Toward Multimodal Modeling of Emotional Expressiveness

“…Human observers have also been used to measure how emotionally expressive a person appears to be within a given interaction Figure 1: Example frames from the GFT database [36,57]. However, these studies did not explore which specific behavioral signals the observers used to make their ratings.…”