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. 2013;28(5):804-21.
doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00041.

Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: the role of gender and age

Günnur Karakurt  1 , Kristin E Silver  2
Affiliations

Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: the role of gender and age

Günnur Karakurt et al. Violence Vict. 2013.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the moderating roles of gender and age on emotional abuse within intimate relationships. This study included 250 participants with an average age of 27 years. Participants completed the Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (EAQ; Jacobson & Gottman, 1998), which 4 subscales are isolation, degradation, sexual abuse, and property damage. Multigroup analysis with 2 groups, female (n = 141) and male (n = 109), was used to test the moderation effect. Younger men reported experiencing higher levels of emotional abuse, which declined with age. Older females reported experiencing less emotional abuse than older males. Overall, emotional abuse was more common in younger participants. Younger women experienced higher rates of isolation, and women's overall experience of property damage was higher than that of men and increased with age. Results are interpreted through the social exchange and conflict frameworks.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prototypical plots of emotional abuse as a function of age and gender
Figure 2
Figure 2
Final multigroup modeling results for subscales of emotional abuse as a function of age and gender *p<.05
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prototypical plots of isolation as a function of age and gender
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prototypical plots of property damage as a function of age and gender
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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