Electronic Communication and Emotion Dysregulation in Early Adolescent Boys’ Dating Violence

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a serious public health problem. With the explosion of electronic communication (i.e., texting, calling, social media communicating), youth have unprecedented access to their dating partners online, which can also provide opportunities to control, harass, or abuse their partner. Indeed, growing research suggests that electronic communication in dating relationships is increasingly playing a role in ADV (Doucette et al., 2018). Despite this finding, it is unknown whether youth attitudes about electronic ADV during early adolescence, a key developmental period for the emergence of dating behavior, are positively associated with in-person ADV. Further, extant research suggests that emotion dysregulation is positively associated with ADV (Wekerle & Wolfe, 1999, Shorey et al., 2011) and may serve as an important moderator of the link between ADV risk factors and involvement (e.g., Stappenbeck et al., 2016). Thus, youth with greater attitudes supporting the use of electronic communication to control their partners, who have greater emotion regulation difficulties, may be at greater risk for perpetrating ADV.

Based on the extant literature, the goals of this study are to test the following hypotheses: 1) early adolescents who report attitudes supporting the use of electronic forms of ADV are more likely to perpetrate in-person ADV and 2) emotional dysregulation (ED) will moderate the link between youth attitudes supporting electronic ADV and in-person ADV.

Participants were 120 early adolescent boys participating in a randomized control trial of Project STRONG, an online ADV prevention program. Boys completed a baseline survey assessing ED (Affect Dysregulation Scale; Brown et al., 2012), attitudes supporting electronic ADV (Social Networking Controlling Behaviors Survey - Attitudes; Rizzo et al., 2018; higher scores indicate more positive attitudes toward controlling behaviors), and in-person ADV (Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory; Wolfe et al., 2001). Teens ranged in age from 12-15 (M = 13.04; SD =.07). Teen ethnic and racial backgrounds were the following: 23% Hispanic; 53% White, 22% Black, 4% Asian, and 21% Other.

A series of linear regressions were conducted using SPSS Version 24. Results demonstrated that ED was associated with in-person ADV perpetration, (B=.25, p<.05). Although attitudes about electronic ADV were not significantly associated with ADV, there was a significant interaction between ED and electronic ADV attitudes (B= -.07, p<.05). Boys with greater attitudes supporting electronic ADV and greater emotion regulation difficulties reported perpetrating more in-person ADV than boys with fewer attitudes supporting electronic ADV and fewer emotion regulation difficulties.

Results of the current study with early adolescent boys are consistent with prior work linking ED with ADV among youth. Interestingly, attitudes supporting electronic ADV were not significantly associated with in-person ADV. Rather, our study indicates that early adolescent boys’ attitudes supporting electronic ADV are most strongly associated with in-person ADV perpetration when the teen also possess poor emotion regulation. These results further support the importance of addressing ED in ADV prevention programs, as teen’s ability to manage strong feelings may affect how other known ADV risk factors, such as violence supporting attitudes, link with ADV outcomes.

Authors

• Eli Silverman-Lloyd, Brown University
  Presenting Author

• Catherine Sofia Forster, Brown University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Crosby A Modrowski, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christie J Rizzo, Northeastern University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christopher Houck
  Non-Presenting Author