Cultivating Dependence, Denial, and Self-Blame: A Narrative Review of the use and Effects of Coercive Tactics in Intimate Partner Violence

Little empirical research has investigated coercive tactics and their impacts on victims of intimate partner violence. Abusers may consciously exploit these tactics to suppress the abused partner’s independence, reduce the likelihood of exposure, and enable continued abuse. In turn, these have predictable impacts on victims’ self-esteem and agency, while also increasing dependence and self-blame and even lowering their awareness that what is happening is abusive. These strategies serve to decrease the likelihood of exposure of the violence so that the abuse can continue unabated. To demonstrate this, in this narrative review, I bring together research on abusers’ controlling and coercive tactics to demonstrate how these are both used strategically and intentionally, and that they have predictable negative effects on abused partners. Abusive relationships in which coercive tactics are used to establish and maintain control may lead to worse mental and physical health outcomes for the abused partners and may be more violent than bi-directional violence and other forms of intimate partner violence. This review may help to inform prevention efforts, clinical care, and create testable hypotheses for future research. Understanding the patterns of coercive behaviors may further help abused partners decrease self-blame and understand the broader context in which they and their abusers are situated which is vital to better understand the dynamics of violence and to end violence.