Psychometric Properties and Factor Analysis of a Short Form of the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse.

The 28-item Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA) assesses four common forms of emotional abuse in intimate relationships and has been used extensively to study the development of intimate partner violence (IPV), the consequences of emotional abuse, and the outcomes of IPV interventions. The current study provides psychometric analyses of a shortened version of the MMEA using self-report data from a sample of men receiving treatment at a community-based relationship violence intervention program (RVIP; N = 467) and reports from their relationship partners (N = 252), and data from a sample of undergraduate students (N = 194) who reported on their own and their partners' abusive behavior. Theoretical and statistical considerations, including internal consistency after item deletion, were used to select items for the shortened version. In the clinic sample (for self- and partner reports) and in the undergraduate sample (for self-report only), the 16-item MMEA-Short Form (MMEA-SF) retains the 4-factor structure of the 28-item MMEA. In both samples and across reporting methods (self and partner), the 16-item MMEA-SF has good internal consistency, good concurrent validity with the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) psychological aggression subscale, and similar correlations with CTS2 physical assault subscale as the original 28-item MMEA version. The MMEA-SF can reduce assessment burden while maintaining good domain coverage and strong psychometric properties and will be an asset to researchers and practitioners who need a brief, multifaceted measure of emotional relationship abuse in both clinic and undergraduate samples.

More or less: Newlyweds' preferred and received social support, affect, and relationship satisfaction.

Matching theories of social support suggest that receiving the amount and type of support one prefers from one's romantic partner promotes more favorable affect and higher relationship satisfaction. Individuals who feel they are provided with less support from their partner than they desire (underprovision) generally experience less positive affect, more negative affect, and tend to be less satisfied in their relationships. However, research findings are mixed with regard to whether receiving more of a particular type of support from one's partner than one desires (overprovision) is associated with more favorable affect and higher relationship satisfaction. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether underprovision and overprovision of two theoretically important types of social support from spouses-emotional or informational support-were associated with more favorable affect and higher relationship satisfaction in a sample of newlywed couples. Participants were 114 newlywed couples. Data were analyzed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Moderation Models. Results suggested that receiving more emotional support was associated with more favorable affect and higher relationship satisfaction regardless of support preferences. Also, wives who received more informational support from their husbands had higher relationship satisfaction regardless of support preferences. In contrast to findings for relationship satisfaction, the association between informational support and affect were consistent with matching hypotheses. Husbands who experienced underprovision of informational support from their wives, experienced less favorable affect. In contrast, wives who experienced overprovision of informational support from their husbands experienced higher depressive symptoms. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).