INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE PERPETRATION, POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, AND GUILT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF PARENTING STATUS
Open Access
- Author:
- Taverna, Emily
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- September 16, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Amy Dyanna Marshall, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ginger A Moore, Committee Member
Steffany Fredman, Committee Member
Melvin Michael Mark, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Intimate partner violence
Guilt
PTSD
Parenting - Abstract:
- Research with military veterans has long recognized the role of perpetrating violence on subsequent PTSD and guilt, particularly with regard to moral injury. In the context of intimate partner violence (IPV), mental health consequences of perpetration have been minimally examined and cross-sectional associations have been interpreted to mean that PTSD and shame (a construct closely related to guilt) precipitate perpetration. However, theory and research regarding moral injury, as well as the dyadic nature of IPV, suggest that the opposite directionality may also exist. In the absence of sufficient longitudinal data, I examined differential associations between IPV perpetration and PTSD/guilt for parents and non-parents. Parenting status was examined as a moderator because it was thought that parents would be more susceptible to moral injury due to a greater multitude of potential consequences of IPV perpetration (e.g., child witnessing perpetration). I conducted multilevel regression analyses to examine PTSD and self-reported guilt related to physical IPV perpetration among 64 heterosexual community couples (N = 128 individuals). IPV perpetration was significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity, but not guilt. Parenting status moderated the relationship between IPV perpetration and overall guilt, state guilt, and trait guilt, such that non-parents who perpetrated more IPV experienced higher levels of guilt while parents did not. Parenting status did not moderate the relationships between IPV victimization and PTSD or guilt, suggesting the pattern of results is specific to IPV perpetration. Findings did not necessarily support or disconfirm the proposed theory regarding the emotional consequences of perpetration. Interestingly, however, results suggest that parents may exhibit a muted guilt response in relation to their perpetration that warrants future investigation.