The longitudinal associations between personality traits and psychological intimate partner violence

Abstract

AbstractObjective and backgroundThis study examined the longitudinal adverse influences of attachment anxiety and the dark triad on psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization through daily negative emotions.MethodWe conducted a 1‐year paired longitudinal study that followed married couples across three waves of assessment. The participants were 471 married couples in Japan. They completed measures of the dark triad and attachment anxiety (Wave 1), daily negative emotions (Wave 2: 1 month after Wave 1), and psychological IPV victimization (Wave 3: 1 year after Wave 1).ResultsThe actor–partner interdependence model showed that attachment anxiety and the dark triad were positively associated with psychological IPV perpetration 1 year later through different processes. Whereas attachment anxiety was related to psychological IPV perpetration through daily negative emotions for both men and women, the dark triad was directly related to psychological IPV perpetration across sex groups. In addition, attachment anxiety was positively related to psychological IPV victimization through daily negative emotions for men and women, but the dark triad was not.Conclusion and implicationAttachment anxiety and the dark triad were associated differently with psychological IPV perpetration 1 year later, whereas these processes are equivalent for men and women. Our results imply that for individuals with high attachment anxiety, interventions to regulate daily negative emotions such as depression and distress may buffer against both IPV victimization and perpetration.