Understanding the Role of Experiential Avoidance in Intimate Partner Abuse

Objective: Experiential avoidance (EA) refers to the unwillingness to stay in contact with present experiences in order to avoid distressing private events, including distressing thoughts and emotions. Although EA may provide short-term relief, chronic reliance on these strategies can exacerbate distress by inhibiting individuals from coping and responding adaptively to stressful situations. The present study examined ways in which EA may be involved in abusive behavior in intimate adult relationships. Method: Using vignettes depicting emotionally charged relationship scenarios, 74 men enrolled in an intervention program for partner violence reported on their anticipated negative emotional reactions, their motivation to end those emotional states, their likelihood of enacting specific aggressive/abusive and nonaggressive/nonabusive responses, and the anticipated success of those responses in reducing their negative emotions. Results: The relationship scenarios and behavioral response options were perceived as realistic and produced measurement scales that were internally consistent and correlated with a previously validated measure of EA. The intensity of negative emotions that participants anticipated and their motivation to reduce those emotions significantly predicted their reported likelihood of engaging in aggressive/abusive responses. The extent to which participants anticipated that aggressive/abusive actions would repair their negative emotion state was strongly and uniquely predictive of aggressive/abusive behavioral intentions. Conclusions: Experiential avoidance appears to be associated with partner abuse through both motivation to reduce or end negative emotion states and through the expectation that abusive responses will alleviate those emotions.