Examination of Emotion Regulation and Alcohol Use in Dating Aggression Amongst Female Undergraduate Students

Past psychological research has assessed various antecedent conditions that may be related to the manifestation of dating violence, most notably emotion regulation. However, research also suggests that other proximal factors, including alcohol use, are also related to perpetration of dating violence. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine emotion regulation and alcohol use in the context of dating aggression to determine if alcohol use mediates the relationship between emotion regulation and perpetration of dating violence amongst females. Participants (N=379) completed a series of online questionnaires about emotion regulation, patterns of alcohol use, and perpetration of physical and psychological aggression in their dating relationships. The results suggested that full mediation of alcohol use for psychological aggression, and partial mediation for physical perpetration. Implications of these findings for prevention of dating violence are also provided