Relative Importance of Emotional Dysregulation, Hostility, and Impulsiveness in Predicting Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrated by Men in Alcohol Treatment

Abstract

The current study employs dominance analysis to assess the relative importance of three constructs—hostility, impulsiveness, and emotional dysregulation (difficulties managing one’s emotions when experiencing negative emotion or distress)—in explaining psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by men seeking alcohol treatment. A sample of 121 predominantly White, heterosexual men (average age 33.28, range = 18 - 62) enrolled in residential substance abuse treatment completed measures of emotional dysregulation, hostility, and impulsiveness, which are three highly related constructs identified as risk factors for both substance use disorders and IPV. The constructs collectively accounted for 20-25% of the variance in each form of IPV. Because impulsiveness, hostility, and emotional dysregulation are highly correlated, dominance analysis was used to examine which factor most strongly predicted each form of IPV. Dominance analysis findings favored hostility as a predictor of physical IPV perpetration, and impulsiveness as a predictor of sexual and psychological IPV perpetration. Differential associations between the constructs and each form of IPV may be used to inform assessment and treatment planning of men who abuse alcohol. Better understanding, preventing, and treating male-to-female IPV will protect women from the far-reaching consequences of this violence.

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

“…However, the mediation of the association between individual vulnerabilities and psychological aggression by relationships satisfaction is consistent with the GAM insofar as suggesting that perceptions of the partner led to devaluation of the relationship/decline in marital quality, which, in turn, led to greater psychological aggression over time (DeWall et al, 2011). The findings are also consistent with previous studies that have shown that trait-like hostility and tendency to be flooded are related cross-sectionally to psychological aggression (O'Leary et al, 2007;Stuart & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2005;Tharp et al, 2013). However, this study contributes to the understanding of psychological aggression by illustrating the capacity of hostility and flooding to predict longitudinal escalation in psychological aggression over time.…”

“…Although hostility is often accompanied by the emotion of anger, hostility is conceptualized as being a stable trait, whereas the emotion of anger has both state-and trait-like aspects (Ramirez & Andreu, 2006). Hostility has been linked with partner physical aggression in a number of studies (Archer & Webb, 2006;Norlander & Eckhardt, 2005;Stuart & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2005;Tharp, Schumacher, Samper, McLeish, & Coffey, 2013) and there is also some evidence that hostility is related to partner psychological aggression (Stuart & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2005;Tharp et al, 2013). However, the few studies that have examined the link between hostility and psychological aggression are limited by their crosssectional design (e.g., Stuart & Holtzworth-Munroe, 2005;Tharp et al, 2013).…”

Intergenerational transmission of self-regulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework.

“…Cohen et al (2013), Finkel et al (2009; Study 1), Stuart and Holtzworth-Munroe (2005), Tharp et al (2012), Schafer, Caetano, and Cunradi (2004), and Kerley et al (2008) reported concurrent associations between impulsivity and aspects of relationship adjustment (e.g., marital dissatisfaction and IPV perpetration). However, one study did not find anticipated effects (Swogger, Walsh, Kosson, Cashman-Brown, & Caine, 2012) and other studies have reported mixed findings.…”

“…Research also has noted that the use of adaptive emotional SR strategies is related to better relationship functioning, and that problematic emotional SR is related to poorer relationship outcomes (Gross & John, 2003; Kerley, Xu, & Sirisunyaluck, 2008; Kinsfogel & Grych, 2004; Tharp, Schumacher, Samper, McLeish, & Coffey, 2012). Similarly, several longitudinal studies have found that poor emotional SR is related to IPV perpetration (Dankoski et al, 2006; Turcotte-Seabury, 2010).…”

Drinking context-specific associations between intimate partner violence and frequency and volume of alcohol consumption

“…Typical explanations for this association include shared risk factors such as adverse childhood experiences (8), psychosocial characteristics such as impulsivity (9) and hostility (10), and the perception of short-term disinhibition caused by alcohol consumption (11). These individual-level characteristics are important predictors of the alcohol-IPV association, but do not fully explain or describe the social ecological circumstances surrounding the relationship.…”