The mediating role of disengagement strategies on the relationship between emotion dysregulation and intimate partner violence revictimization

• Main Author: Ausan, Kaye Therese M
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Intimate partner violence; Victims of family violence; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/86; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_psych/article/1087/viewcontent/2024_Ausan_The_Mediating_Role_of_Disengagement_Strategies_on_the_Relationshi.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Intimate partner violence remains to be a critical issue in the field of clinical psychology, particularly in understanding the psychological mechanisms that contribute to its occurrence and perpetuation. Guided by the Conservation of Resources Theory, this study explored the mediating role of disengagement strategies (e.g., mental disengagement) in the relationship between emotion dysregulation and intimate partner violence revictimization. Using a sample of domestic violence survivors in the Philippines who have availed of governmental and non-governmental support services, an independent samples t-test revealed that repeatedly-victimized participants are significantly more emotionally dysregulated and are significantly more likely to make use of disengagement strategies than those who had only experienced violence once. A mediation analysis further revealed that while emotion dysregulation predicted mental disengagement, mental disengagement did not predict revictimization. These findings highlight how emotion dysregulation influences the kind of coping strategies that domestic violence survivors adopt, and how not all types of disengagement strategies contribute to revictimization. These emphasize the importance of targeted interventions to prevent resource loss and revictimization, along with the value of examining cultural and contextual nuances to further refine theoretical models and prevention programs.