The current study was designed to test two theoretically driven models of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a mixed-gender sample of adolescents. Johnson (2006) proposed two subtypes of IPV, situational couple violence (SCV) and coercive controlling violence (CCV), to account for disparate findings in prevalence, severity, and gender symmetry of IPV perpetration. Research on these subtypes suggests they are associated with different patterns of emotional and behavioral regulation, personality traits, and physiological reactivity, all of which may originate in childhood. Theories of the intergenerational transmission of IPV suggest that family violence, including exposure to parental IPV and child maltreatment, may influence the development of these variables. Additionally, there is little research on whether models of IPV function similarly for males and females, especially in adolescence. Thus, the current study was designed to test separate models of SCV and CCV, including the influence of childhood exposure to parental IPV and child maltreatment, on emotion regulation and behavioral self-control, personality traits, physiological reactivity, and IPV subtypes. These models were tested using a mixed-gender, late-adolescent sample. The results suggest that SCV and CCV have separate pathways and related individual characteristics, but can originate from common experiences of family violence and childhood maltreatment. This is important in that it both supports previous research which demonstrated the deleterious impact of family violence and maltreatment on later involvement of IPV (Ireland & Smith, 2009) and furthers our understanding of the role of individual differences in the types of violence which might be perpetrated later in life. The current study also found relatively equal distribution of both psychopathy traits and CCV across genders, which is different from previous research in these areas. Implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are also discussed.
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