(PS1-D80) The Cumulative Impact of Intimate Partner Violence Experiences on Emotion Dysregulation

Friday, November 18, 2022

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

LS

Lauren E. Simpson, B.A.

Research Coordinator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Co-Author(s)

Shaina A. Kumar, M.A.

Doctoral Candidate
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
Alexandra N. Brockdorf, M.A.

Doctoral Student
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
Terri L. Messman, Ph.D.

University Distinguished Scholar & Professor of Psychology
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio
KG

Kim L. Gratz, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
DD

David DiLillo, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health concern that disproportionately affects women (CDC, 2021). One in three women in the United States has experienced IPV in their lifetime and one in four has experienced negative physical or mental health outcomes related to IPV (Smith et al., 2018). One of the most well-established consequences of IPV is emotion dysregulation (Weiss et al., 2018). Prior cross-sectional research has found that greater IPV severity is associated with higher levels of emotion dysregulation and, in turn, greater levels of psychopathology among women (Simpson et al., 2021; Weiss et al., 2018). Subsequent experiences of IPV may further exacerbate already elevated levels of emotion dysregulation from prior experiences of IPV, resulting in a cumulative impact of IPV on emotion dysregulation. Despite literature demonstrating that IPV is often recurrent and tends to escalate in severity over time (Cochran et al., 2011), few studies have examined the effects of recurrent experiences of IPV on emotion dysregulation prospectively. The current study utilized eight waves of longitudinal data to examine the cumulative impact of IPV on emotion dysregulation among young women. We hypothesized that women with greater cumulative experiences of IPV, assessed over a three year period, would have greater emotion dysregulation.

Participants were 457 young adult community women (M_age = 21.71, SD = 2.24) who were predominantly White (n = 278; 60.8%) and/or African American/Black (n = 163; 35.7%). Participants completed self-report measures of IPV victimization (CTS-2; Straus et al., 1996) and emotion dysregulation (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) every four months for 28 months. A cumulative IPV score was created to reflect the number of waves at which participants reported experiencing any IPV (possible range = 0 to 8). Scores on the DERS were summed across items at month 28.

Results of linear regression analyses showed that cumulative experiences of IPV across 28 months were positively associated with overall emotion dysregulation at month 28 (B = 2.13, SE = 0.53, p < .001). To examine more specific aspects of emotion dysregulation, a series of exploratory linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations among cumulative IPV and each of the six DERS subscales. Results revealed cumulative experiences of IPV across 28 months were positively associated with each aspect of the DERS at month 28, including non-acceptance of emotional responses (B = 0.35, SE = 0.14, p = .012), difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors (B = 0.40, SE = 0.11, p = .001), difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors (B = 0.24, SE = 0.10, p = .013), limited access to emotion regulation strategies (B = 0.59, SE = 0.15, p < .001), lack of emotional awareness (B = 0.32, SE = 0.12, p = .005), and lack of emotional identification or clarity (B = 0.29, SE = 0.09, p = .001).

Findings highlight the importance of cumulative experiences of IPV when examining risk for greater emotion dysregulation. Notably, IPV appeared to have a cumulative and detrimental impact across a broad range of emotion regulation difficulties. As such, emotion dysregulation may be an important target for clinical assessment or intervention with women experiencing cumulative IPV.