THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL AGGRESSION VICTIMIZATION AND WOMEN’S ANXIETY: ALCOHOL USE AS A MODERATOR

Abstract

Intimate partner aggression is a serious concern, creating problematic issues among individuals and couples in romantic relationships. Psychological aggression, specifically, has shown to have detrimental effects on physical and mental health. Victims of such abuse often times find different ways to cope with the negative feelings that accompany being a recipient of partner aggression. The present study examines psychological aggression in relationships and its resulting associations with female partner anxiety symptoms. Further, the study explores alcohol use as a possible coping strategy and the way this tactic moderates the relationship between partner aggression and anxiety. Results from the study show that there was no significant association between partner aggression and anxiety symptoms and that alcohol use did not act as a moderator for this association. However, it was found that for two subtypes of psychological aggression (domination/intimidation and denigration) there were negative associations between aggression victimization and anxiety. Unlike the other subscales of psychological aggression (hostile withdrawal and restrictive engulfment), which showed no significance, higher levels of domination/intimidation, restrictive engulfment, and denigration were associated with lower levels of anxiety. Implications of the findings for future research and clinical practice are discussed.