Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control: Theoretical Considerations, Practical Applications, and a Call for Worldwide Justice

• In Event: Technologically facilitated abuse and honour-based abuse

Abstract

There has been much growth in intimate partner violence (IPV) research, yet some under-explored areas exist, such as that of technology-facilitated intimate partner abuse. In particular, characteristics, risk factors, and theoretical frameworks used to explain abusive processes are underdeveloped, especially for specific kinds of abuse like intimate partner cyberterrorism (IPCT) and elements of technology-facilitated coercive control (TFCC) that underlie it, both of which focus on unidirectional efforts to gain power and control over an intimate partner. As such, research is needed to determine the nature and extent of TFCC perpetration and whether this form of electronically mediated abuse is similar to, differs from, or co-occurs with in-person intimate terrorism, as this carries implications for understanding, theorizing, and practice. Utilizing Johnson’s typology as a conceptual guide and conducting a cluster analysis, this project pays attention to TFCC behaviors comprising IPCT among a sample of young adults in intimate relationships (n=352). The results illuminate the complex and multifaceted nature of intimate partner abuse in today’s digital age, which has implications worldwide for researchers and practitioners working to understand, intervene in, and treat maladaptive relationship behaviors.

Authors

• Alison Marganski, Le Moyne College

• Lisa Melander, Kansas State University