When conflict escalates into intimate partner violence: The delicate nature of observed coercion in adolescent romantic relationships

We investigated how initial conflicts in adolescent romantic relationships escalate into serious forms of conflict, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We focused on whether adolescents' micro-level interaction patterns, i.e., coercion and positive engagement, mediated between conflict a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 2019-12, Vol.31 (5), p.1729-1739
Main Authors: Ha, Thao, Kim, Hanjoe, McGill, Shannon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adolescent
Adolescents
Aggression
Alcoholism
Antisocial personality disorder
Behavior
Child development
Coercion
Conflict
Couples
Domestic violence
Drug abuse
Dyads
Families & family life
Female
Heterosexuality
Humans
Intervention
Intimate partner violence
Intimate Partner Violence - psychology
Jealousy
Male
Observational studies
Parents & parenting
Personal relationships
Romantic relationships
Sexual Partners - psychology
Teenagers
Victimization
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Summary:We investigated how initial conflicts in adolescent romantic relationships escalate into serious forms of conflict, including intimate partner violence (IPV). We focused on whether adolescents' micro-level interaction patterns, i.e., coercion and positive engagement, mediated between conflict and future IPV. The sample consisted of 91 heterosexual couples, aged 13 to 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 0.99) from a diverse background (42% Hispanic/Latino, 42% White). Participants completed surveys about conflict at Time 1, and they participated in videotaped conflict and jealousy discussions. At Time 2, participants completed surveys about conflict and IPV, and an average daily conflict score was calculated from ecological momentary assessments. Multilevel hazard models revealed that we did not find support for dyadic coercion as a risk process leading to escalations in conflict. However, a higher likelihood of ending dyadic positive behaviors mediated between earlier levels of conflict and a latent construct of female conflict and IPV. Classic coercive dynamics may not apply to adolescent romantic relationships. Instead, not being able to reinforce levels of positivity during conflict predicted conflict and IPV as reported by females. The implications of these findings for understanding coercion in the escalation from conflict to IPV in adolescent romantic relationships are discussed.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579419001007