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Testing a Theoretical Model of the Relationship Between Impulsivity, Mediating Variables, and Husband Violence

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Abstract

The present study involved a multimethod assessment of impulsivity among 86 men. Using two questionnaires and four performance-based measures of impulsivity, the factor structure of the impulsivity data was examined. Four constructs that theoretically mediate the relationship between impulsivity and husband violence (i.e., substance abuse, anger/hostility, marital dissatisfaction, and psychological abuse) were assessed to examine a mediational model predictive of husband violence. Substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction mediated the relationship between impulsivity and psychological abuse. Psychological abuse mediated the relationship between substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction and husband violence. Although anger/hostility was not a mediator, there were bivariate associations between anger/hostility and impulsivity, psychological abuse, and husband violence. The results of the regression analyses were virtually identical when controlling for the effect of intelligence on the model variables. The implications of the findings for the assessment of impulsivity and for future husband violence research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School & Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island

    Gregory L. Stuart

  2. Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

    Amy Holtzworth-Munroe

  3. Brown Medical School & Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, Rhode Island, 02906

    Gregory L. Stuart

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  1. Gregory L. Stuart
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  2. Amy Holtzworth-Munroe
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Correspondence to Gregory L. Stuart.

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Stuart, G.L., Holtzworth-Munroe, A. Testing a Theoretical Model of the Relationship Between Impulsivity, Mediating Variables, and Husband Violence. J Fam Viol 20, 291–303 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-6605-6

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