Exploring Coercive Control, PTSD, and the Use of Physical Violence in the Pre-prison Heterosexual Relationships of Incarcerated Women

Abstract

Although coercive control has been recognized over the past few decades as a form of intimate partner violence (IPV), researchers have often overlooked the role of coercive control in criminal behavior. Moreover, little is known about the effects of coercive control in the lives of incarcerated women. Using data from the 2014 Oklahoma Study of Incarcerated Women and Their Children ( n = 337), this study utilizes a feminist pathways theoretical framework to explore the relationships between coercive control, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology, and the use of physical violence in the preprison heterosexual relationships of incarcerated women. Results indicate that coercive control is significantly related to PTSD. Moreover, the relationship between coercive demands and women’s use of physical violence was partially mediated by PTSD symptoms suggesting that PTSD may play a significant role in women’s pathways to using physical violence in their intimate relationships.