The relationship of positive and negative schemas with intimate partner violence: The role of social problem solving and psychological resilience

Partner violence is a complex behavioral pattern associated with various risk factors. Therefore, in order to understanding and preventing partner violence, it is important to identify how the conflict process operates before violence occurs. The aim of the current study is to examine the mediating role of social problem-solving behaviors in the relationship between negative and positive schemas with experiences of victimization and perpetration of partner violence, as well as how psychological resilience moderates the relationship between schemas and social problem-solving skills. The sample of the study consists of a total of 213 participants, including 163 women (76.5%) and 50 men (23.5%), aged between 19 and 54 years (M=28.84, SD=7.50), who have been in a romantic relationship for at least 6 months. The participants were administered an online questionnaire set consisting of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2), Young Schema Questionnaire Short Form-3, Young Positive Schema Scale, Revised Social Problem-Solving Inventory Long Form (SPSI-R), and Resilience Scale for Adults. The data obtained were analyzed by Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis and a moderated mediating model analysis (Hayes Model 7). According to the results of the analysis, the moderating effect of psychological resilience in the models was insignificant. Positive problem-solving skills revealed an indirect mediating effect in the relationship between both the disconnection and rejection, impaired autonomy/performance and positive schemas with partner violence victimization. It was found that the disconnection and rejection schema domain predicted partner violence perpetration, but negative problem-solving skills did not revealed a mediating role in this relationship. According to the findings, although individuals heavily utilized the disconnection and impaired autonomy, the use of positive problem-solving orientation was significant in experiencing partner violence victimization. However, the role of negative problem-solving skills in experiencing partner violence perpetration is insignificant.