Experiential Avoidance as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration
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Date
2020-01-20
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Department
Psychology
Program
Psychology
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Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author.
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu
Abstract
Past research has established that trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are important risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Much of the research conducted to better understand this phenomenon has focused on cognitive biases as explanatory mechanisms (e.g., hypervigilance to threat cues, difficulties generating non-aggressive responses to conflict). The current study aims to contribute to this literature by investigating experiential avoidance (i.e., a tendency to avoid unwanted internal experiences) as a mediator between PTSD symptoms and IPV perpetration. Seventy-four men presenting for services at an Abuse Intervention Program were recruited to participate in the study. Participants completed assessments of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, trait experiential avoidance, and IPV perpetration. In addition, they completed a novel measure of experiential avoidance in the context of hypothetical distressing relationship situations, in which they reported: 1) their experience of negative emotions, 2) their inclination to avoid these emotional experiences, 3) the extent to which they believed different aggressive and non-aggressive responses would reduce their negative emotions, and 4) their perceived likelihood of engaging in these actions. Results indicated that trauma and PTSD symptoms were associated with a greater intensity of negative emotions during distressing relationship situations, as well as greater experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance significantly mediated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and Emotional Abuse perpetration, but not Physical Assault or Sexual Coercion perpetration. The belief that aggressive actions would reduce negative emotions did not moderate this mediating relationship. Participants generally reported that non-aggressive actions were more likely than aggressive actions to reduce negative mood states. Anticipated reduction in negative emotion was strongly predictive of one'sperceived likelihood of engaging in each action, and this relationship was attenuated for participants higher in experiential avoidance. Study findings suggest that people with PTSD are more likely to view immediate emotion reduction as a primary goal during difficult relationship situations, and are then more likely to use abusive behaviors (e.g., yelling, violating a partner'sprivacy) in order to reduce negative emotions. Overall, the results of this study highlight experiential avoidance as an important treatment target for trauma-informed IPV intervention programs.