Examining Technology-Facilitated Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review of Journal Articles

As intimate partner violence in a cyber world is increasing, scholars have started to pay attention to this phenomenon. This study aims to provide a systematic review of empirical studies in the technology-facilitated intimate partner violence (TFIPV) field. We analyzed 31 studies that examined direct TFIPV perpetration and/or victimization experiences identified from four of the largest databases (i.e., Web of Science, PsyInfo, PubMed, and SCOPUS). We found that most studies recruited adolescents or young adults (i.e., college students) and used a very diverse range of terminologies that describe similar phenomena but are not based on validated instruments. We discuss the implications of our findings and suggestions that can enhance the field's rigor and guide future research.

Examining Cyberstalking Perpetration and Victimization: A Scoping Review

In recent years the body of literature on cyberstalking has expanded rapidly. The present work aimed to summarize the current state of the literature on cyberstalking perpetration and victimization in a scoping review. Forty-one quantitative and qualitative studies that examined variables relating to cyberstalking victimization and perpetration were collated. Following the methodology of Arksey and O'Malley (2005), an in-depth thematic analysis of the articles was undertaken. Prevalence of victimization and perpetration rates were compared and key themes synthesized. Despite examining similar young adult populations, the prevalence of victimization was found to range considerably from 0.7% (Reyns & Engelbrecht, 2010) to 85.2% (Strawhun et al., 2013) across studies. Themes were divided into two overarching classifications, factors relating to victimization and factors relating to perpetration. Deviant peer association, low self-control, previous harassment experiences and personality traits were some of the factors most frequently examined in relation to perpetration; whilst online exposure, online disclosure and guardianship were some of the factors most frequently examined in relation to victimization. Within these themes, deviant peer association and low self-control were found to consistently correlate with an increase in both cyberstalking victimization and perpetration. Guardianship and confidence online demonstrated inconsistent results. This review has summarized what is currently known and has been validated within cyberstalking research pertaining to victimization and perpetration, and has identified gaps and potential areas of future development.

Problem Drinking is Associated with Intimate Partner Cyber Abuse Perpetration but is Buffered by High Relationship Satisfaction

Purpose

Intimate partner cyber abuse (IPCA) is a prevalent form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that has detrimental effects on victims' well-being. Although research has documented associations with other forms of IPV perpetration, additional research is needed to identify IPCA perpetration risk factors. One of the most common risk factors for offline IPV is perpetrators' alcohol use; however, less is known about how this translates to online contexts. There is also a need to identify protective factors that mitigate the effects of alcohol.

Methods

This study evaluated associations between drinking, relationship satisfaction, and IPCA perpetration via self-report questionnaires within a longitudinal framework. Participants included 544 adults in an intimate relationship (n = 296 at T2).

Results

Results indicated that relationship satisfaction buffered the effects of problem drinking on IPCA perpetration at T1, but not at T2. Further, 20.2% of individuals who perpetrated IPCA at T1 drank alcohol during at least one incident, and these individuals reported more problem drinking and more frequent IPCA perpetration compared to those who reported IPCA without alcohol.

Conclusion

Results from this study provide insight into both risk and protective factors for IPCA perpetration among adults and have the potential to guide concurrent prevention strategies that target intersections between problem drinking, IPCA, and offline IPV, and promote healthy and satisfying intimate relationships.

Development and Validation of the Stalking and Obsessive Relational Intrusions Questionnaire (SORI-Q)

Stalking and obsessive relational intrusions both refer to a pervasive and unwanted pattern of pursuit behaviors, the former being a criminal offense evoking fear and a sense of menace in the victim, while the latter may be perceived as annoying or otherwise undesirable, but not necessarily fear inducing. While the individual and societal costs of stalking and obsessive relational intrusion are increasingly recognized, research regarding these behaviors and their consequences has been limited by measurement issues, as most studies have relied on questionnaires and checklists based on very limited validation data. The goal of the present study is to report on the development and validation of the Stalking and Obsessive Relational Intrusions Questionnaire (SORI-Q), a 28-item self-report questionnaire designed to probe for perpetration of stalking-like behaviors. Young adults (age 18-30 years) from a community sample (N = 1,804; 82.6% women) were recruited online. They completed the SORI-Q, along with measures of dark personality traits, insecure attachment dimensions, and intimate partner violence. Overall, the SORI-Q displayed sound psychometric properties. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded a two-factor solution (Hyper-intimacy and Domineering control) with adequate to good fit indices. The total scale and the two factor scores showed high internal consistency (above 0.70 for all indices). A number of gender differences were observed at total-, factor-, and item-level, the most outstanding being that women had a higher score on the total SORI-Q score, and on the Domineering control factor and most of its items. The questionnaire showed conceptually meaningful positive correlations with dark personality traits, attachment anxiety, and intimate partner violence. Dominance analysis revealed that attachment anxiety and Machiavellianism were the strongest statistical predictors of SORI-Q scores. The SORI-Q should be seen as a promising new measure of stalking-like and ORI behaviors in young adults from community settings.

A Scoping Review of 37 Years of Intimate Partner Violence Research in China

So far, no Chinese- or English-language journal investigations have been carried out on the entirety of research published on intimate partner violence (IPV) in China. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study was to analyze the contents of the totality of published IPV research articles indexed in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Specifically, the study aimed to investigate the input and output factors relating to published articles concerned with IPV, including their authors and contents. The CNKI was selected for investigation and analysis because it is the largest and most consulted academic online library in China. The analysis was conducted on 3,595 peer-reviewed journal articles on IPV over a 37-year period covering 1982-2018. The findings revealed that only 68 (1.89%) of the articles were empirically and quantitatively based. Findings among these 68 articles show that total contribution of IPV research has increased significantly over time in China, with increasing growth in the past two decades especially. Results also present summaries concerned with the reviewed studies' inputs (i.e., researchers' organizational affiliations, funding sources, and geographic settings), outputs (i.e., authors, journals, classifications, pages, topics, key words, definitions, theoretical approaches, samples, and methods), and outcomes (i.e., citations, downloads, prevalence rates, and correlates of violence). To sum, this is the first exploratory study of the unique and diverse body of IPV research in the Chinese-language and scientific literature. Overall, the study's results both help to inform future IPV research in China and foster and inform communications concerning IPV research globally.

Characteristics of Intimate Partner Violence in China: Gender Symmetry, Mutuality, and Associated Factors

The primary research focus on female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), coupled with a lack of discussion on mutual violence between intimate partners, has affected our understanding of IPV in China. In the current study, we aim to examine gender symmetry and mutuality in IPV in China. We also produce the first age-specific and gender-specific prevalence estimates for different types of IPV. The associations between IPV, demographic factors, personal factors, and relationship factors are also examined. We analyzed a set of data from 7,466 households in six regions in China collected between 2009 and 2010. Three-way cross-tab analyses and multinomial logistic regressions were performed to examine the prevalence of IPV in the preceding year by gender and age groups and its associations with different individual and relationship factors, respectively. For sexual violence and severe physical assault and injury, most victims experienced unidirectional violence. For psychological aggression and minor physical assault, mutual violence was more likely to occur among intimate partners. Gender symmetry was found in regard to physical assault and psychological aggression. There is gender asymmetry in sexual violence between Chinese intimate partners. Older individuals are less likely to be victims or perpetrators of IPV or to be involved in mutual violence. Factors associated with IPV show that mutual violence is generally analogous to violence perpetration. To prevent IPV, it is important to understand gender symmetry and mutuality of IPV in China. We need to involve both men and women in violence prevention and develop age-appropriate programs in the future.

Are You Going to Delete Me? Latent Profiles of Post-Relationship Breakup Social Media Use and Emotional Distress

When a relationship ends, former partners must make decisions about their online, often public, connections and history, which involve a complex disentangling process. We examined post-breakup behaviors including monitoring, interacting, deleting posts/photos, deleting the former partner, deleting the partner's family/friends, stopping social media (SM) use, and keeping digital possessions. Participants (N = 256) who had experienced a breakup within the last year completed an online survey. Approximately 38 percent reported experiencing distress over the breakup sometimes or more often. Utilizing latent profile analysis, we identified four latent classes (or profiles) of breakup SM behaviors; we also examined associations between the class and breakup emotional distress. Most participants were clean breakers (61.3 percent), who did zero to very little monitoring, interacting, or deleting and were unlikely to delete their ex-partner, stop use, or keep digital possessions. Wistful reminiscers (12.9 percent) were similar to clean breakers in terms of engaging in very little of any deleting behaviors, stopping use, or keeping digital possessions; however, they engaged in frequent amounts of monitoring their ex-partner as well as interacting with their ex-partner and their ex-partner's family/friends. Ritual cleansers (15.6 percent) were similar to clean breakers in terms of engaging in very little to no monitoring and interacting; however, they engaged in deleting their SM history, their ex-partner's family/friends, and their ex-partner. Impulsives (10.2 percent) engaged in high amounts of all the SM behaviors. In terms of emotional distress, impulsives showed the highest levels of distress, followed by wistful reminiscers, ritual cleansers, and then clean breakers.

Cyber Partner Abuse: A Systematic Review

With recent technological advances, cyber partner abuse has become increasingly problematic. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the existing literature on cyber partner abuse. This systematic review examines the characteristics and conceptualizations in the cyber partner abuse literature as well as the major topics the research has explored. Literature searches used keywords related to cyber partner abuse. In total, 37 articles were included in this review. Inductive qualitative content analysis methods were used to generate codes and themes from the identified articles. Results detail the study characteristics and conceptualizations in the cyber partner abuse research. Additionally, common thematic patterns reported by researchers in the literature are discussed. Specific recommendations for future research and practice stem from this review and are provided.

Preventing Online Victimization: College Students' Views on Intervention and Prevention

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites have changed the way we interact online. Technological advances have also facilitated the emergence of cyberstalking and online harassment, a growing issue on college campuses. This study utilizes focus group data to examine college students' experiences with online harassment and cyberstalking. Students voiced concerns with online tracking, falsifying identities, and harassment. They also noted that incoming first-year students and those negotiating some of their first romantic relationships are especially vulnerable. In addition, students were asked to propose appropriate prevention, education, and intervention strategies at the college level. Surprisingly, many students recommended offline programs to battle this online problem.

It Hurts to Let You Go: Characteristics of Romantic Relationships, Breakups and the Aftermath Among Emerging Adults

Relationship breakups are common (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009), and difficulty adjusting to the breakup can manifest as post-relationship contact and tracking (PRCT; Lee & O'Sullivan, 2014). Emerging adults (n = 271; aged 18–25; 66% female) provided reports of PRCT after their most recent breakup in the previous year. We examined relationship and breakup characteristics to predict the use of and experience of PRCT. Logistic regression analyses revealed that ex-partner initiation of the breakup and a more intense breakup predicted the use of PRCT, and ex-partner's surprise regarding the breakup predicted being a target of PRCT. A between-subjects comparison of participants who either used or experienced PRCT reported similar impact of PRCT on the self or their ex-partner. However, participants who both used and experienced PRCT reported that the impact that an ex-partner's PRCT had on their lives was more negative than their use of PRCT had on their ex-partner's life, likely reflecting an actor-observer bias in reports. Difficulty adjusting to relationship breakup is normal, and predictive of attempts to remain in contact with an ex-partner. However, the seemingly benign form of contact can have a negative impact on individuals. The findings have implications for those counselling individuals in distress following a breakup, and contribute to the discourse around boundaries after a breakup.