Aggression Exposure to Parental Violence and Resilience as Predictors of Dating Violence Perpetration in Female College Students

The purpose of the proposed study was to examine a model of relationship violence that predicts physical dating violence perpetration. The I3 theory states that instigation and impellance are positively related to aggression whereas inhibition is negatively related to aggression, such that an individual is less likely to be aggressive when inhibition is higher than instigation and impellance; however, an individual is more likely to be aggressive when inhibition is lower than instigation and impellance (Finkel, DeWall, Slotter, McNulty, Pond, & Atkins, 2012). Furthermore, individuals who have been exposed to parental violence are more likely to perpetrate dating violence than individuals who have not been exposed to parental violence (Herrenkohl, Sousa, Tajima, Herrenkohl, & Moylan, 2008; Jouriles, Murphy, & O'Leary, 1989). However, individuals who are resilient may be more likely to overcome exposure to parental violence and engage in healthy relationships as adults (Gonzales, Chronister, Linville, & Knoble, 2011). The hypotheses of the present study were: (1) a three-way interaction between impellance, instigation, and inhibition would predict aggression; (2) aggression would be positively associated with physical dating violence perpetration; (3) exposure to parental violence would be positively associated with physical dating violence perpetration; and (4) resilience would moderate the relationship between exposure to parental violence and physical dating violence perpetration such that those individuals who had been exposed to parental violence but reported higher resilience scores would report less likelihood of perpetrating physical dating violence. Participants (N = 269) were female undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 25 who had been in a committed relationship for at least one month. Participants were enrolled in a psychology course at a large southeastern university in the United States and were asked to complete an online survey. The three aspects of I3 theory, impellance, inhibition, and instigation, were not a significant predictor of aggression when combined as a three-way interaction. Exposure to parental violence was a significant predictor of physical dating violence perpetration, such that exposure to parental violence was associated with greater likelihood of having perpetrated physical dating violence. Resilience significantly predicted physical dating violence perpetration, indicating that higher resilience was associated with fewer reports of physical dating violence perpetration. Moreover, resilience moderated the relationship between exposure to parental violence and physical dating violence perpetration, but not as predicted. In contrast, among individuals who had been exposed to parental violence, individuals higher in resilience were more likely to perpetrate physical dating violence than those who reported less resilience.