title: The interplay of trait anger, childhood physical abuse, and alcohol consumption in predicting intimate partner aggression.
abstract: The current study examined three well-established risk factors for intimate partner aggression (IPA) within Finkel and Eckhardt's I(3) model, including two impellance factors-trait anger and childhood physical abuse history-and the disinhibiting factor of alcohol consumption. Participants were 236 male and female college students in a committed heterosexual dating relationship who completed a battery of self-report measures assessing childhood physical abuse, trait anger, alcohol consumption, and IPA perpetration. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction showing that as the disinhibition factor alcohol consumption increased, the interaction of the two impelling factors, trait anger and childhood physical abuse, became increasingly more positive. Individuals who had high levels of childhood physical abuse and alcohol consumption were at greater risk of IPA perpetration when trait anger was high. Consistent with the I(3) model, these findings suggest that trait anger and a history of childhood physical abuse may increase tendencies to aggress against one's partner, whereas alcohol consumption may reduce individuals' abilities to manage these aggressive tendencies. The importance of interplay among these risk factors in elevating IPA risk is discussed, as are the implications for clinicians working with male and female IPA perpetrators.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA rosymal@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rosalita C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: DiLillo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000786:Anger; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol; anger; childhood physical abuse; intimate partner aggression; violence