Relation between social information processing and intimate partner violence in dating couples

Abstract

We used couple-level data to predict physical acts of intimate partner violence (IPV) from self-reported negative emotions and social information-processing (SIP) abilities among 100 dating couples (n = 200; mean age = 21.45 years). Participants read a series of hypothetical conflict situation vignettes and responded to questionnaires to assess negative emotions and various facets of SIP including attributions for partner behavior, generation of response alternatives, and response selection. We conducted a series of negative binomial mixed-model regressions based on the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006, Dyadic data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press). There were significant results for the response generation and negative emotion models. Participants who generated fewer coping response alternatives were at greater risk of victimization (actor effect). Women were at greater risk of victimization if they had partners who generated fewer coping response alternatives (sex by partner interaction effect). Generation of less competent coping response alternatives predicted greater risk of perpetration among men, whereas generation of more competent coping response alternatives predicted greater risk of victimization among women (sex by actor interaction effects). Two significant actor by partner interaction effects were found for the negative emotion models. Participants who reported discrepant levels of negative emotions from their partners were at greatest risk of perpetration. Participants who reported high levels of negative emotions were at greatest risk of victimization if they had partners who reported low levels of negative emotions. This research has implications for researchers and clinicians interested in addressing the problem of IPV. Aggr. Behav. 43:329-341, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Racial Discrimination as a Risk Factor for African American Men’s Physical Partner Violence: A Longitudinal Test of Mediators and Moderators

“…According to SIP theories (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Holtzworth-Munroe, 1992; Setchell et al, 2017), youth who experience mistreatment in their interpersonal interactions come to see their social world through a biased lens. Thus, rather than the operant learning process emphasized in Akers’ social learning theory (see Akers, 1998; Akers & Jensen, 2006), SIP suggests a learning process whereby individuals develop cognitive models that inform their behavior through repeated interactions with others (Crick & Dodge, 1994; R.…”

“…Within criminology, strain and learning theories have been the dominant explanations for the connection between racial discrimination and violence (Giordano, Copp, Longmore, & Manning, 2016; Setchell, Fritz, & Glasgow, 2017). However, existing research tends to be cross-sectional, does not specify mediators that might account for such a relationship, and does not explore what factors might moderate the association.…”

How Do Memories of Having Been Parented Relate to the Parenting-Experience of Fathers in Treatment for Intimate Partner Violence? A Phenomenological Analysis

“…However, this relational quality became recognizable to them when they perceived it in the child's relation to others, for example the child's mother, where it could be criticized. This also reflects socialinformation theories of interpersonal violence (Murphy 2013), and research demonstrating that men who use IPV have limitations in social information processing (Setchell et al 2017). Hollway (2006) has suggested that the capacity to care develops within early dyadic and triadic family relationships.…”

“…From a psychological perspective, human aggression has been linked to poor affect regulation and inadequate socialinformation processing (Crick and Dodge 1996;George et al 2000). In line with this, men's use of intimate partner violence has been associated with aggressive biases in socialinformation processing (Setchell et al 2017). Social information processing that heightens the risk for interpersonal violence has, amongst others, been associated with early trauma and stress during critical neurodevelopmental periods (Golding and Fitzgerald 2019;Murphy 2013).…”

Prescription Opioid Misuse and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration among a Nationally Representative Sample of Young Men

“…Although there currently no known pharmacological explanations for an association between prescription opioid misuse and IPV, prescription opioid misuse, in particular, may be indicative of a cluster of problem behaviors including IPV or other illicit drug use (Boyd et al, 2009;Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005;Jessor, 1991). Alternatively, individuals may use prescription opioids as a method of coping with the aftermath of IPV (Setchell et al, 2017;Wong et al, 2013). Since 2004, more studies on opioid use and IPV perpetration have been conducted, however, most of the studies either do not distinguish between heroin and prescription opioids (e.g.…”