Unraveling the Web of Individual Characteristics and Negative Partner Relationship Events Through Network Analyses

Aggression in relational contexts, such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and stalking, is a worldwide problem with severe consequences for all involved, including bystanders and society. Although previous research has identified risk factors for victims and perpetrators, the connections among these risk factors remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate how individual characteristics (i.e., childhood trauma, adult attachment style, maladaptive personality traits, and moral disengagement) and negative experiences during or after romantic relationships (i.e., IPV and stalking) as both victim and perpetrator are interrelated. A sample of 648 participants from the general population completed online self-report questionnaires (71% female, M age = 34.93 years old, SD age = 16.40). A partial correlation network was estimated on the scale level to investigate these interrelations. In addition, networks were estimated and compared for men and women separately. While IPV victimization and perpetration were strongly interrelated, there was no significant relationship to other nodes in the network. Contrarily, stalking victimization was part of the network and positively connected to abusive childhood trauma and gender. The most central nodes in the network were Callous-Unemotional personality traits and gender. No significant differences were found between the networks for men and women separately. Against expectations, these individual characteristics are not as impactful in IPV involvement as previously thought. Further research is needed to understand the contextual factors predicting aggression in romantic relationships.