ABSTRACT
COVID-19 pandemic caused several lockdowns in most countries, enclosing together perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Our study investigates psychological mechanisms associated with IPV. We supposed that stress provoked by the pandemic, as well as adhering to authoritarian beliefs will be a predictor of IPV. Using an online questionnaire, 1,659 individuals indicated whether they had been victim or witnessed IPV at home and filled a perceived stress scale, anxiety, depression, and aggressiveness scales. They were also asked to fill an authoritarianism scale, how they cope with the lockdown situations, and some demographical information. We found that individuals who were victims or witnesses of IPV during the COVID-19 lockdowns tended to have more difficulty isolating at home or to hold stronger authoritarian beliefs. Importantly, the association between authoritarian beliefs and IPV was moderated by perceived stress, suggesting that individuals who hold authoritarian views may be more affected by stress, which could increase the risk of experiencing or witnessing IPV. IPV incidents during the pandemic lockdowns may be partially explained by perceived stress, which is amplified by authoritarian attitudes. Further discussions on the causes of IPV and interventions are suggested.
ABSTRACT
Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) both predict generalized prejudice, dehumanization, intergroup discrimination, oppression, violence, right-wing political party preference, and generally punitive attitudes. Authoritarian attitudes have been theorized to involve maladaptive emotional, cognitive, and social self-regulation. However, there is no study of authoritarianism using the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) as a physiological index of self-regulation, thus leaving it unclear whether regulation is "impaired" with authoritarian attitudes per se. PNS functioning is commonly assessed by examining tonic and phasic heart rate variability (HRV). These two components are recognized to be important in terms of adaptation to stress. Decreased HRV has been associated with hypoactive prefrontal regulation, hyperactive subcortical structures, maladaptive self-regulation, hyper-vigilance, decreased prosocial tendencies, defensiveness, impulsive behaviors, and aggression. Previous research suggests that self-regulatory failure may favor hostile attitudes and prejudicial intergroup behaviors. In a first study, we found that high RWA was associated with lower tonic HRV at rest. In a second study, stress-induced autonomic reactivity and poststress autonomic recovery were examined as potential pathways linking authoritarian attitudes to self-regulation. We found that high RWA and high SDO were associated with (i) lower tonic HRV during stress, (ii) greater autonomic reactivity during stress, and (iii) lower autonomic recovery. Overall, our results suggest that autonomic dysregulation during and following stress is a plausible physiological pathway connecting RWA and SDO to self-regulation. Implications of such results for research on political attitudes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
