Abstract
Purpose
Marital violence and violence by non-marital partners are serious problems in Japan, and an increased incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) using information and communication technology has been observed. Narcissism is a risk factor for IPV and is correlated with aggressive behavior in ego-threatening situations. Narcissism appears in two main types, namely, grandiose and vulnerable, which differ in the expression of aggressive behavior. This study examined anxious ego threat regarding the possible failure of a dating relationship and investigated whether the two types of narcissism lead to cyber dating abuse (CDA) in this type of ego-threat situation.
Method
We conducted an internet questionnaire survey of 603 unmarried Japanese people (71% female, 29% male) aged 15 to 29 who had a dating partner.
Results
In men, when relationship anxiety was high, grandiose narcissism predicted CDA, such as direct aggression to annoy or hurt the partner and intrusive behaviors, such as persistent messaging to track the partner. Grandiose narcissism was not associated with aggressive behavior toward a dating partner in the absence of anxiety concerning the dating relationship. Vulnerable narcissism was not associated with aggressive behavior toward a dating partner, regardless of the presence or absence of anxiety concerning the dating relationship. In women, no association was found between CDA and narcissism.
Conclusion
In considering narcissism as a risk factor for CDA, it is insufficient to examine the relationship between narcissism and CDA. Both types of narcissism and threat to self-evaluation must be examined.
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Notes
The subscale of the CDA victimization scale consisting of intrusive and persistent behaviors, such as sending large numbers of messages to grasp the behavior of the dating partner, was termed persistent messaging by Takezawa & Matsui (2018). In this study, we called the same actions “invasive behavior” rather than “persistent messaging” because we believe that this phrase better characterized the behavior.
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The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.
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This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP24730572.
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MT, MM, and NK were involved in conceiving and designing the analysis. MT was involved in data collection. MT, MM, and NK were involved in contributing data/analysis tools. MT was involved in performing the analysis. MT, MM, and NK were involved in writing the paper.
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Takezawa, M., Matsui, M. & Kawasaki, N. Narcissism and Intimate Partner Violence Using Information and Communication Technology in Japan. J Fam Viol 38, 931–940 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00426-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00426-1