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Violence / Aggression

Using alcohol to cope: Post-breakup cyber dating abuse perpetration in a sexual minority college sample

(PS12-C68) Using Alcohol to Cope: Post-breakup Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration in a Sexual Minority College Sample

Saturday, November 18, 2023
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
Cyber dating abuse (CDA, i.e. abusive behaviors that occur electronically) is a public health concern disproportionately impacting young adults (Burke et al., 2011; Ronzón-Tirado et al., 2021) Sexual Minority (SM) college students are at increased risk for CDA due to the convergence of minority stressors and risky alcohol use (Shorey et al., 2019), a commonly cited risk behavior in heterosexual populations (Brem et al., 2021). However, the relationship between severity of alcohol use and CDA in SM populations is unknown, highlighting a critical gap. Additionally, the context of a relationship breakup is associated with increased risk of CDA perpetration (McMillan et al., 2022); this context should be considered in SM populations. The current study addresses these gaps by examining alcohol use and its relationship to CDA (both overall and subtypes) in SM college students post-breakup. Participants (N = 214 self-identified SM) reported their CDA perpetration following their worst perceived breakup (Controlling Partner Inventory, CPI, Burke et al., 2011) and their current alcohol use (AUDIT; Saunders et al., 1993). Many (69.8%) engaged in CDA perpetration, with the three most frequently endorsed behaviors being: checking their (ex’s) social media page (60.7%), sending an excessive number of texts to them (26.2%), and using GPS/social media to monitor their ex’s location (23.4%). Nearly one-third reported risky levels of alcohol consumption with 8.9% being classified as dependent and 22.8% classified as harmful drinkers. To assess the relationship between alcohol use and CDA, items from the CPI were conceptually grouped into the following subtypes: Harassment (e.g. calling them repeatedly), Sexual Violence (e.g. posting sexually explicit media of them), Psychological Violence (e.g. calling them names online), Surveillance (e.g. checking their social media page), and Severe Surveillance (e.g. using hidden spyware to monitor them). To examine mean CDA differences among alcohol use groups (dependent, harmful, or moderate), one-way ANOVAS were conducted. Overall CDA differed among groups, F(2,176) = 6.87, p = .001. Groups differed on three out of five CDA subtypes: Surveillance, F(2, 176) = 3.87, p</span> = .023, Severe Surveillance, F(2, 177) = 6.01, p = .003, and Harassment, F(2, 176) = 4.30, p = .015. LSD post hoc tests revealed that participants with dependent alcohol use (score of 15 or greater) perpetrated more overall CDA, Harassment, and Severe Surveillance than the two other groups. Participants with dependent alcohol use also perpetrated more Surveillance than those with moderate, but not harmful, alcohol use. Psychological and Sexual Violence perpetration did not differ amongst groups, p’s > .25. In sum, findings highlight the prevalence of risky alcohol use among SM college students and the subsequent increased risk of CDA perpetration. To further facilitate adaptive coping after romantic breakups, interventions targeting risky alcohol use and coping skill development may be particularly relevant for SM college students. Existing CBT groups targeting IPV perpetration in heterosexual samples may also effectively reduce CDA among diverse student populations (Murphy et al., 2020); however, these results need to be replicated. 
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