The moderating role of traumatic exposure and ICD-11 CPTSD on the association between couples conflicts and cyber dating violence: a daily diary study

Theory and research show that exposure to trauma constitutes a central risk factor for perpetration of both intimate partner violence and cyber dating violence (CDV). However, no study has examined the specific response of the ICD-11 complex posttraumatic stress disorder – which includes both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disturbances in self-organization – on the perpetration of CDV. Moreover, no event-level research has examined these factors as proximal correlates of CDV. Therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that baseline traumatic life events, PTSD symptoms, and disturbances in self-organization would strengthen the association between daily couple conflict and CDV. Israeli young adults in dating relationships (N = 134) completed once-daily reports on couple conflict and CDV for 45 consecutive days. The results indicated that although PTSD symptoms associated with CDV (r = .13, p < .05), only disturbances in self-organization and exposure to traumatic life events moderation effects on CDV (β = 0.53, p < .05; β = 0.14, p < .001, respectively). After accounting for participants’ sex assigned at birth, the effect of conflict on CDV increased as disturbances in self-organization increased, and as traumatic life events increased. The results suggest that disturbances in self-organization has a stronger impact on CDV than do PTSD symptoms, which emphasizes the role of trauma exposure, emotion regulation, self-concept, and interpersonal clusters as risk factors for CDV. The results support the need of trauma-informed interventions for reducing CDV.