TY - JOUR
T1 - When conflict escalates into intimate partner violence
T2 - The delicate nature of observed coercion in adolescent romantic relationships
AU - Ha, Thao
AU - Kim, Hanjoe
AU - McGill, Shannon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2019 Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - We investigated how initial conflicts in adolescent romantic relationships escalate into serious forms of conflict, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We focused on whether adolescents' micro-level interaction patterns, i.e., coercion and positive engagement, mediated between conflict and future IPV. The sample consisted of 91 heterosexual couples, aged 13 to 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 0.99) from a diverse background (42% Hispanic/Latino, 42% White). Participants completed surveys about conflict at Time 1, and they participated in videotaped conflict and jealousy discussions. At Time 2, participants completed surveys about conflict and IPV, and an average daily conflict score was calculated from ecological momentary assessments. Multilevel hazard models revealed that we did not find support for dyadic coercion as a risk process leading to escalations in conflict. However, a higher likelihood of ending dyadic positive behaviors mediated between earlier levels of conflict and a latent construct of female conflict and IPV. Classic coercive dynamics may not apply to adolescent romantic relationships. Instead, not being able to reinforce levels of positivity during conflict predicted conflict and IPV as reported by females. The implications of these findings for understanding coercion in the escalation from conflict to IPV in adolescent romantic relationships are discussed.
AB - We investigated how initial conflicts in adolescent romantic relationships escalate into serious forms of conflict, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We focused on whether adolescents' micro-level interaction patterns, i.e., coercion and positive engagement, mediated between conflict and future IPV. The sample consisted of 91 heterosexual couples, aged 13 to 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 0.99) from a diverse background (42% Hispanic/Latino, 42% White). Participants completed surveys about conflict at Time 1, and they participated in videotaped conflict and jealousy discussions. At Time 2, participants completed surveys about conflict and IPV, and an average daily conflict score was calculated from ecological momentary assessments. Multilevel hazard models revealed that we did not find support for dyadic coercion as a risk process leading to escalations in conflict. However, a higher likelihood of ending dyadic positive behaviors mediated between earlier levels of conflict and a latent construct of female conflict and IPV. Classic coercive dynamics may not apply to adolescent romantic relationships. Instead, not being able to reinforce levels of positivity during conflict predicted conflict and IPV as reported by females. The implications of these findings for understanding coercion in the escalation from conflict to IPV in adolescent romantic relationships are discussed.
KW - adolescent romantic relationships
KW - coercion
KW - intimate partner violence
KW - multilevel hazard models
KW - observational studies
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U2 - 10.1017/S0954579419001007
DO - 10.1017/S0954579419001007
M3 - Article
C2 - 31387664
AN - SCOPUS:85070356503
SN - 0954-5794
VL - 31
SP - 1729
EP - 1739
JO - Development and psychopathology
JF - Development and psychopathology
IS - 5
ER -