The Sense of Rejection and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: Mediating Effects of the Need for Control and Relationship Satisfaction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a globally prevalent public health problem requiring critical resolution. To examine the factors associated with IPV perpetration, we formulated a hypothetical model examining the associations between the sense of rejection and psychological IPV perpetration via the need for control and relationship satisfaction.

We conducted two longitudinal studies to examine the proposed model. In Study 1, 1,392 participants completed two-waves of web surveys. In Study 2, which aimed to replicate and extend the results of Study 1, 1,916 participants completed a three-wave survey. Participants in both studies answered questions on demographic variables and completed scales assessing their sense of rejection, need for control, relationship satisfaction, and psychological IPV perpetration. We found consistent patterns of association across studies.

The sense of rejection in Wave 1 was directly associated with psychological IPV perpetration in the subsequent waves. The need for control in Wave 2 mediated the association between the sense of rejection in Wave 1 and psychological IPV perpetration in Wave 2 of Study 1 and Wave 3 of Study 2. Conversely, relationship satisfaction in Wave 2 was not a significant mediator across the two studies.

These results suggest the potential utility of psychological IPV perpetration interventions that address perpetrators’ need for control and feelings of rejection. Our study implies that focusing on relationship satisfaction may not necessarily be effective for IPV prevention.