ActorPartner Effects: Attachment and Psychological Aggression in Romantic Relationships

1
Actor-Partner Effects Attachment and
Psychological Aggression in Romantic
Relationships

• Elizabeth A. Goncy Manfred H. M. van Dulmen
• Kent State University
• Department of Psychology

2
Acknowledgement

• This project was partially funded by the Center
  of the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress
  (Summa Health Systems/Kent State University).

3
Psychological Aggression

• High frequency
• Definition
• Relational acts
• Causing emotional or psychological harm
• Consequences

4
Attachment Theory

• Framework for understanding interpersonal
  relationship (Bowlby, 1977)
• Internal working models
• Attachment styles

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Limitations of Previous Work

• Primary focus on physical aggression
• Categorized attachment scores
• Examination at individual level

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Aims of the Current Study

• To investigate the association between attachment
  behavior and psychological aggression
• Test using the Actor-Partner Interdependence
  Model
• To determine if effects are different for males
  or females

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Sample

• Transitions Into Adulthood and Romantic
  Relationship study
• 18 25 year olds in a self-defined romantic
  relationship of 4 months or longer
• This study is limited to Wave 1 questionnaires.

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Sample Demographics

• 115 Heterosexual couples
• Age (M19.78, SD1.65)
• 89 Caucasian
• 50 in relationship longer than 12 months

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Measures

• Experiences in Close Relationships Scale -
  Revised (Fraley et al., 2000)
• Anxiety scale
• Females M 1.62
• Males M 1.16
• Avoidant scale
• Females M 1.65
• Males M 1.22
• Correlations
• Females r 0.54, p lt 0.01
• Males r 0.52, p lt 0.01

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Measures

• Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship
  Inventory (Wolfe et al., 2001)
• Emotional/verbal abuse subscale
• Females M 1.94
• Males M 1.77
• r 0.513, p lt 0.01

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Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM, Kashy
Kenny, 2000)

• Independence assumption violated
• What can the APIM tell us?
• Actor effect
• Partner effect
• Couple effect

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APIM
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Attachment
Actor
Partner
Partner
Male Attachment
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Actor
Actor Effects If Actor gt 0 Partner
Effects If Partner gt 0 Couple Effects If
Actor not significantly different from Partner
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Results

• Conducted in Mplus 5.1
• Followed procedures laid out by Kenny, Kashy,
  Cook, 2006

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Avoidance ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Avoidance
ß 0.17, SE 0.10
Actor
ß 0.21, SE 0.10
ß -0.05, SE 0.20, ns
Male Avoidance
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Actor
ß 0.14, SE 0.10, ns
p lt 0.05 trend ns non-significant
15
Avoidance ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Avoidance
ß 0.17, SE 0.10
Partner
ß 0.21, SE 0.10
Partner
ß -0.05, SE 0.20, ns
Male Avoidance
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
ß 0.14, SE 0.10, ns
p lt 0.05 trend ns non-significant
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Avoidance ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse

• Are there differences in actor effects for males
  and females?
• ?2(1) 0.04, ns
• No

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Avoidance ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse

• Are there differences in actor effects for males
  and females?
• ?2(1) 0.04, ns
• No
• Are there differences in partner effects for
  males and females?
• ?2(1) 2.955, p 0.08
• Trend

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Anxiety ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Anxiety
ß -0.36, SE 0.08
Actor
ß 0.12, SE 0.09, ns
ß -0.26, SE 0.08
Male Anxiety
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Actor
ß -0.38, SE 0.08
p lt 0.05 ns non-significant
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Anxiety ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Anxiety
ß -0.36, SE 0.08
ß 0.12, SE 0.09, ns
Partner
ß -0.26, SE 0.08
Partner
Male Anxiety
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
ß -0.38, SE 0.08
p lt 0.05 ns non-significant
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Anxiety ? Emotional/Verbal Abuse
Female Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
Female Anxiety
ß -0.36, SE 0.08
COUPLE
ß -0.26, SE 0.08
ß 0.12, SE 0.09, ns
Male Anxiety
Male Emotional/ Verbal Abuse
ß -0.38, SE 0.08
p lt 0.05 ns non-significant
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Anxiety? Emotional/Verbal Abuse

• Are there differences in actor effects for males
  and females?
• ?2(1) 0.41, ns
• No

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Anxiety? Emotional/Verbal Abuse

• Are there differences in actor effects for males
  and females?
• ?2(1) 0.41, ns
• No!
• Are there differences in partner effects for
  males and females?
• ?2(1) 8.39, p lt 0.05
• Yes!

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Conclusion

• Avoidance Partner Effect for Females
• Males avoidance predicts lower female use of
  emotional and verbal abuse
• Somewhat inconclusive
• Anxiety
• Actor Effect for Males
• Couple Effect for Females

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Future Directions

• Integrate findings from observational data
• Integrate multi-informant
• Partner-rated Emotional and Verbal Abuse

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Contact Information

• Elizabeth Goncy, MAKent State University
  Department of Psychology
  Kent OH 44242
  
  email egoncy_at_kent.edu
• http//dept.kent.edu/psychology/ADPlab/Index.html