Michelle C. Ramos

College students' electronic victimization in friendships and dating relationships: anticipated distress and associations with risky behaviors.

This study investigated college students’ reports of electronic victimization in friendships and dating relationships. We examined 22 items representing four categories of electronic victimization: hostility, humiliation, exclusion, and intrusiveness. Nearly all participants (92%) reported some electronic victimization in the past year, with males reporting more victimization and females anticipating more distress. Both females and males anticipated more distress from electronic victimization in dating relationships than friendships. More actual experience with electronic victimization related to lower anticipated distress. Electronic victimization was associated with females’ alcohol use, even after controlling for other victimization experiences. Discussion focuses on the contextualized nature of electronic victimization, and on the importance of understanding what makes electronic victimization highly distressing for some individuals.

Family Conflict and Children's Behavior Problems: The Moderating Role of Child Temperament

Child temperament was examined as a moderator of the link between family conflict and child behavior problems. Temperament assessed in early childhood was used to predict the relation between family conflict and externalizing behavior problems measured during the early elementary school years. For children with difficult temperament, a strong association between subsequent family conflict and behavioral adjustment was predicted; for children with easy or intermediate temperaments, low to moderate associations were predicted. These hypotheses were tested across 3 temperament groups (easy, intermediate, and difficult). Data were collected from 108 children and families participating in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study at ages 3 through 10 years. Consistent with the hypotheses, the data provided support for the moderating role of temperament in predicting the association between family conflict and child externalizing behavior problems. These findings suggest that temperamental difficultness operates as a vulnerability factor with respect to the development of childrens behavior problems in families with high conflict.

Ethical issues in couple and family research.

Federal regulations, ethical standards, and state laws governing ethics do not adequately address important issues in couple and family research. Including multiple family members, particularly dependent minors, in research requires the special application of fundamental ethical issues, such as confidentiality, privacy, and informed consent. The sensitive, commingled nature of couple and family information necessitates clear policies about data ownership and disclosure. Researchers need to have respect for the family as a unit and to evaluate benefits versus harms for the family as well as for individuals. This article highlights areas of potential concern and ambiguity related to abuse reporting and Certificates of Confidentiality and also addresses ethical issues with observational data, intervention studies, longitudinal designs, and computer-assisted research.

Substance Use, Aggression Perpetration, and Victimization Temporal Co-occurrence in College Males and Females

Many studies have documented associations of substance use with aggression perpetration and aggression victimization; however, little is known about the co-occurrence of these problem behaviors within the same day in college students. The present study investigated whether substance use and aggression increase the likelihood of each other and whether attitudes justifying aggression strengthen those associations. College student participants (N = 378, 32% males) self-selected into an online study in which they reported on 2 days of alcohol/drug use and on aggression perpetration and victimization (including physical, psychological and electronic aggression, and sexual coercion) with friends and dating partners. Using regression to test for nonequivalence of predictor and outcome variables, we found bidirectional effects for males only. Males’ substance use was associated with an increased likelihood on the same day of aggression perpetration and of aggression victimization; males’ aggression perpetration and aggression victimization were associated with an increased likelihood of substance use on the same day. Females did not show significant contingencies between substance use and aggression in either direction. Males’ attitudes justifying male-to-female aggression were associated with their aggression perpetration and victimization and their justification of female-to-male aggression strengthened the link between substance use and aggression perpetration. With interpersonal aggression and substance use being significant problems on college campuses, many colleges offer separate preventive intervention programs aimed at these public health challenges; this study suggests possible benefits of an integrated approach that addresses connections between alcohol/drug use and aggression.

Perspective-Taking and Empathy Mitigate Family-of-Origin Risk for Electronic Aggression Perpetration Toward Dating Partners: A Brief Report

Electronic dating aggression among emerging adults is prevalent and has adverse consequences, yet factors that increase or decrease the risk for perpetrating electronic aggression against a romantic partner are understudied. This investigation advances the literature in two novel ways. First, based on intergenerational transmission of violence theories, we tested the link between family-of-origin aggression (FOA) history and electronic aggression toward romantic partners, using a diverse sample of emerging adults. Second, we examined whether perspective-taking and empathy each moderated the association between FOA and electronic dating aggression and explored the moderating role of gender. Participants included 359 undergraduate students (50% female; 42% White) from an urban university. Results indicated that greater FOA during childhood was associated with perpetrating greater electronic aggression against romantic partners. Furthermore, significant interactions indicated that perspective-taking and empathy separately buffered these associations. Youth from aggressive families did not exhibit increased electronic dating perpetration when they had higher perspective-taking or empathy. Males were especially sensitive to the protective effects of perspective-taking. Findings highlight potential points of intervention (i.e., cognitive and affective empathy training) to decrease electronic aggression in romantic relationships and break intergenerational cycles of aggression.