(PS5-A14) Examining Distress Tolerance as a Moderator of the Association Between Perceived Partner Infidelity and Cyber Dating Abuse Among College Students

Annually, 77% of young adults experienced cyber dating abuse (CDA; monitoring, harassing, or abusing a partner via technology), which associated with numerous negative experiences (e.g., depression, heavy drinking; Brem et al., 2021; Wolford-Clevenger et al., 2016). Young adults with high perceived partner infidelity (PPI; suspicion that a partner is emotionally/sexually unfaithful) perpetrated CDA more frequently than did those with low PPI, but investigators have not identified potentially malleable factors that could be targeted among such individuals to mitigate CDA (Toplu-Demirtas et al., 2022). Higher levels of distress tolerance (DT; an ability to withstand aversive internal states; Leyro et al., 2010) associated with less frequent in-person dating abuse perpetration (Shorey et al., 2013) and may mitigate CDA perpetration, even in the presence of PPI. We tested the hypothesis that PPI would positively associate with CDA perpetration among college students with low, but not high, levels of DT.

 College students in dating relationships (N = 211, 73.8% women) completed self-report measures of CDA perpetration (CPI; Burke et al., 2011), PPI with their current partner (WITH Scale; Brem et al., 2015), and DT (DTS; high scores represent greater ability to withstand distress; Simons & Gaher, 2005). We used Hayes' (2022) PROCESS macro for SPSS to examine whether DTS total scores moderated the association between PPI and CPI total scores.

 PPI (B = .67, 95% CI [.28, 1.07], p < .001), positively associated with CDA perpetration. DT negatively associated with CDA perpetration (B =-11, 95% CI [-.17, -37], p < .001). No significant interactions emerged.

 Consistent with extant research, PPI may potentiate CDA perpetration among college students. These associations persist even among individuals with high levels of DT, suggesting that PPI is a robust CDA correlate. Future CDA research should examine potentially-malleable cognitive constructs (e.g., rumination) that may buffer the PPI-CDA link.