Affect Dysregulation As a Predictor of Young Adult IPV Perpetration

Background and purpose: Nearly 10 million adults in the United States reported having been the victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past 12 months in a nationally representative survey (Breiding et al., 2014). In community samples, rates of young adult IPV are even more common (e.g., Sunday et al., 2011). Partner violence is a serious social and public health concern. Several studies have indicated that for adolescents, affect regulation capacity plays an important role in IPV perpetration proximally and distally (e.g., Jouriles, McDonald, Mueller, & Grych, 2012; Penney & Moretti, 2010). Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to impairment of self-regulation mechanisms that do not mature until early adulthood. Patterns of affect dysregulation often persist into adulthood (Nader, 2011). Informed by a stress physiology framework, the current study examined affect dysregulation over time as a predictor of physical IPV perpetration in young adulthood. The study also examined perpetration patterns by gender, as prior research has suggested high rates of female physical IPV, particularly in bidirectionally violent young adult couples.

Methods:  The study utilized 3 panels of prospective data from a cohort of 15 year olds (N=338) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods longitudinal study (Sampson, 2011). The data were comprised of a stratified probability sample of seven ethnic/racial groups and three categories of socio-economic status. Structural equation modeling was employed in the current study to test an autoregressive relationship of affect dysregulation over three developmental stages to predict young adult IPV. Affect dysregulation was measured by a proxy variable comprised of syndrome subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), as suggested and validated in several prior studies (e.g., Bellani, Negri, & Brambilla, 2012). A version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, Hamby, & Warren, 2003) was used to measured IPV perpetration and victimization.

Results:  The affect dysregulation proxy variable tested positively for measurement invariance and factor loadings were strong in all three waves. Affect dysregulation was significant autoregressively. Females scored on average 10% higher on all measures of dysregulation. Contemporaneously in Wave 3, a one unit increase in affect dysregulation significantly predicted an increase of 8.52 (p<.01) acts of minor and 5.05 (p<.01) acts of severe physical IPV perpetration. Female gender, as a covariate, predicted an additional 1.83 (p<.04) acts of minor and 3.29 (p<.04) acts of severe physical IPV perpetration. Females were also significantly more likely than males to perpetrate greater frequency and severity of physical IPV and report bidirectional IPV.

Conclusions and implications: The results of the study suggest that affect dysregulation in adolescence persists over time to predict young adult IPV outcomes, particularly for females. There is a need for further research on the relationship of affect dysregulation and female young adult IPV perpetration. Affect-oriented components are suggested as an essential aspect of a strategy to prevent IPV perpetration in young couples, particularly for bidirectional female perpetrators. Prior research has suggested that females in bidirectional violent couples may be at risk for greater injury than those who experience unidirectional IPV (Whitaker et al., 2007).