Unique Effects of Psychological Distress in Victimization and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) reliably co-occurs with psychological distress. However, understanding the precise nature of the association between these two classes of variables, as potential cause or effect, is complicated by the fact that victimization of IPV is not often studied controlling for simultaneous perpetration, and vice versa. It is therefore important to control for one form of IPV when testing predictors of the other to accurately understand the extent to which psychological distress may predispose people to these serious interpersonal problems. Method: Two national survey studies were conducted to test the unique associations between victimization and perpetration of IPV with psychological distress. In the first study, 773 adults completed survey measures of IPV (victimization and perpetration) and psychological distress (depression and stress). In the second study, 389 participants completed the same measures as in Study 1, but at two waves separated by three months (T1-T2 follow-up rate 73%). Results: In study 1, both depression and stress were concurrently associated with perpetrating IPV, when controlling for victimization. However, only depression was associated with victimization, after controlling for perpetration. Results of study 2 showed that both depression and stress are prospectively associated with IPV victimization. However, they are not prospectively associated with IPV perpetration, net the effect of IPV victimization. Discussion: These results are consistent with the interactional model of depression by showing that people with depression, and high levels of stress, are at heightened risk for experiencing IPV, even after controlling for their own propensity to enact IPV.