Examining Gender Differences in the Link Between Impulsivity and Digital Dating Abuse

Digital dating abuse (DDA), a form of online intimate partner violence, has emerged as a prevalent behavioral health concern among college students. This study examined the role of impulsivity and gender in predicting DDA perpetration, as well as whether gender (i.e., woman or man) moderates the relationship between impulsivity and specific forms of DDA: digital sexual coercion, digital direct aggression, and digital monitoring. Participants were ( n = 1666) undergraduate students ( M _age = 19.14, SD = 2.17) attending a large public university in the southeastern United States. Sociodemographic information and scores for impulsivity and DDA were collected via an online survey. Multiple regression and simple slopes analyses were conducted to evaluate the independent and interactive effects of these variables, with impulsivity subtypes (sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, negative urgency, positive urgency) as predictors and gender as a moderator. Results indicated that negative urgency was positively associated with digital sexual coercion perpetration across genders, with men reporting higher levels overall. Gender moderated the associations between impulsivity and digital monitoring perpetration, such that among women, higher scores for lack of premeditation and sensation seeking predicted greater monitoring behaviors, whereas these relationships were not significant among men. No significant predictors emerged for digital direct aggression perpetration. The findings portray the nuanced role of impulsivity subtypes in DDA perpetration, highlight gender-specific patterns in online relational aggression, and underscore the importance of interventions that target improving emotion regulation and online communication skills.