New technologies bring new forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) or abuse, such as cyber intimate partner violence (C-IPV). This is a contemporary issue with different consequences from in-person IPV. C-IPV is a complex phenomenon triggered by a number of factors, including personality traits such as the Dark Tetrad, composed of four “malevolent” qualities: subclinical narcissism, Machiavellianism, subclinical psychopathy, and everyday sadism. The Dark Tetrad plays an important role in predicting the perpetration or victimization of the resulting pervasive behaviors. Although the correlations between in-person IPV and the Dark Tetrad have been studied before, to our knowledge this investigation is the first to look at the links between these four dark personality traits and C-IPV. With a sample of 1,189 participants, we measured C-IPV victimization and perpetration rates and compared the results with the Dark Tetrad profiles of the respondents. To analyze these correlations, we conducted bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling. The analysis yielded positive relations of psychopathy and narcissism with cyber controlling behaviors. Psychopathy was found to be strongly related with direct cyber aggression behaviors; sadism was mainly related with C-IPV victimization in both controlling and direct aggression, and, finally and interestingly, Machiavellianism presented negative correlations with direct cyber aggression. Remarkable is that joining sadistic personalities increased vulnerability to victimization from C-IPV direct aggression, as well as more psychopathic traits and an increased probability of perpetration. These combinations may create dangerous situations. In conclusion, we found that both C-IPV perpetrators and victims present higher scores in the dark personality traits and gender-based differences than in-person IPV actors.

Spanish police makes an extensive use of intimate partner violence (IPV) risk assessment on a daily basis. Improved prediction procedures have encouraged the search for greater refinement of IPV predictors by adjusting to specific targets, such as lethal outcomes or potential victimization of children. This paper describes the evolution of the VPR5.0 tool (VioGén System Police Risk Assessment) as an algorithm aimed at improving predictability of intimate partner homicides (IPH). A sample of 2,159 records was used, 159 of whom were IPH victims. The sample was divided into two comparable groups of cases (IPH) and controls (N-IPH) to validate the results. The results showed that 13 out of 35 risk factors were significantly related to IPH with an effect size different to that of general N-IPH (with OR values ranging between 1.507 and 8.087). Binary logistic regression showed six significant factors that correctly classified 86.3% of the IPH. The new H-Scale performance parameters were comparable to those obtained in studies with the same objective (sensitivity 84%, specificity 60%, OR = 8.130, AUC = .80, PPV = .19 and NPV = .97). La policía española hace un uso diario y extenso de la evaluación del riesgo de violencia en casos de violencia de género (VCP). El perfeccionamiento de los sistemas de predicción de VCP ha impulsado la búsqueda de procedimientos ajustados a objetivos concretos, como puede ser el resultado letal o la inclusión de menores como posibles víctimas. En el presente trabajo se describe la evolución de la herramienta VPR,5.0, (Valoración Policial del Riesgo del Sistema VioGén) a un algoritmo diferenciado cuyo objetivo es predecir mejor los homicidios de mujeres por su pareja (HCP). Se analizaron 2,159 registros, 159 de los cuales correspondían a HCP, dividiendo la muestra en dos grupos comparables con casos (HCP) y controles (N-HCP) para validar los análisis. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto que de los 35 factores de la herramienta 13 estaban asociados significativamente con el HCP, con un tamaño del efecto diferente al de N-HCP (con valores ,OR, entre 1.507 y 8.087). La regresión logística binaria mostró seis factores significativos que clasificaban correctamente el 86.3% de los HCP. Los parámetros de rendimiento de esta escala-H resultaron comparables a los obtenidos en estudios con el mismo objetivo (sensibilidad 84%, especificidad 60%, ,OR, = 8.130, AUC = .80, VPP = .19 y VPN = .97).

Factorial and temporal invariance of a Spanish version of the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross y John, 2003) is widely used to assess individual differences in reappraisal and suppression strategies of emotion regulation. The present study tests the factorial and temporal invariance of a Spanish adaptation of the ERQ on two samples of 1.980 participants aged 18–67 years. Psychometric properties, reliability, and factorial and temporal validity of the ERQ were calculated. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed the expected two-factor structure. Results also indicated adequate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. As expected, reappraisal use was positively associated with positive emotion and negatively with negative emotion, whereas suppression use was negatively associated with positive emotion and positively with negative emotion. These findings suggest that the Spanish version of the ERQ is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating strategies of emotion regulation in the Spanish-speaking population.Resumen: El Cuestionario de Regulación Emocional (ERQ; Gross y John, 2003) es ampliamente utilizado para evaluar las diferencias individuales en las estrategias de regulación emocional reevaluación y supresión. El presente estudio examina la invarianza factorial y temporal de una adaptación española del ERQ en dos muestras de 1.980 participantes de 18-67 años de edad. Examinamos su fiabilidad, y validez factorial y temporal. El análisis factorial confirmatorio reflejó una estructura de dos factores. También encontramos niveles adecuados de consistencia interna, fiabilidad test-retest, y validez convergente y discriminante. Como se esperaba, el uso de la reevaluación se asoció positivamente con las emociones positivas y negativamente con las emociones negativas, mientras que la supresión se asoció a un patrón opuesto. Estos datos sugieren que la versión española del ERQ es un instrumento válido y fiable para evaluar las estrategias de regulación emocional en población de habla española.