Citation

Kachadourian LK, Taft CT, Holowka DW, Woodward H, Marx BP, Burns A. J. Trauma. Stress 2013; 26(5): 580-587.

Affiliation

National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.21850

PMID

24030885

Abstract

This study examined the associations between maladaptive dependency-related schemas, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) hyperarousal symptoms, and intimate-partner psychological and physical aggression in a sample of court-referred men (N = 174) participating in a domestic-abuser-intervention program. The men were largely African American; average age was 33.5 years. The extent to which hyperarousal symptoms moderated the association between dependency schemas and aggression was also examined. Maladaptive dependency-related schemas were positively associated with severe psychological, and mild and severe physical aggression perpetration. Hyperarousal symptoms were positively associated with mild and severe psychological aggression, and mild physical aggression perpetration. Multiple regression analyses showed a significant interaction for mild physical aggression: For those with high levels of hyperarousal symptoms, greater endorsement of maladaptive dependency schemas was associated with the perpetration of aggression (B = 0.98, p = .001). For those with low levels of hyperarousal symptoms, there was no association between dependency schemas and aggression (B = 0.04, ns). These findings suggest that focusing on problematic dependency and PTSD-hyperarousal symptoms in domestic-abuser-intervention programs may be helpful, and that examining related variables as possible moderators between dependency schemas and intimate aggression would be a fruitful area for future research.

Language: en