The Longitudinal Role Of Positivity During Aggressive Conflicts

Intimate partner aggression can be detrimental for individual and relationship well-being, yet little is known about factors that contribute to the persistence or reduction of aggression in relationships. Application of theories regarding the development of aggressive behavior suggests that outcomes following aggression perpetration could condition individuals aggressive behaviors. Although approximately half of couples report their conflicts end with some form of positivity, little is known regarding how positive behaviors may affect aggression perpetration over time. While generally thought to be beneficial to relationships and reflect capacity to problem solve or recover from conflict, an alternative hypothesis is tested such that positivity received immediately after aggression perpetration may reinforce individuals aggression perpetration over time. Using dyadic growth curve modeling among 63 bidirectionally aggressive community couples, I modeled the effect of receiving positivity (i.e.., apologies, intimacy, support) during or immediately following aggression perpetration on the frequency of husbands and wives aggression perpetration over an approximate one-year period. I also modeled the moderating role of depression symptoms on the association between positivity and aggression perpetration, hypothesizing that depression may dampen the conditioning effect of positivity. Among wives, receipt of intimacy was associated with a linear increase in aggression perpetration over time. Among husbands, receipt of support prevented the natural decline in their aggression perpetration over time, suggesting it maintained their aggression perpetration. There was limited support for the moderating role of depression. In addition, findings seem unique to positivity within aggressive incidents, as a measure of general relationship satisfaction did not predict trajectories of aggression perpetration. These results challenge the perspective that positive behaviors are uniformly good for relationships, and highlight the need to consider within-incident contexts of aggression perpetration, as well as how negative and positive relationship processes co-occur to gain a more complete understanding of the persistence of couples behaviors, particularly intimate partner aggression.