Intimate Relationships and Personal Distress: the Invisible Harm of Psychological Aggression

Aggression in intimate relationships is pervasive,has been implicated in personal distress,and yet may not be perceived as harmful. two studies (cross-sectional,longitudinal) examined whether being the target of psychologically aggressive behavior by a partner is uniquely associated with personal distress,beyond the effects of general couple functioning,perpetrating aggression,or experiencing physical aggression. new instances of psychological aggression by a partner predicted increases in personal distress. study 2 also examined participants’ perceptions of what causes them stress. although psychological aggression by a partner predicted personal distress,participants did not perceive their relationship as a source of stress. this suggests a pattern of “invisible harm” in which individuals victimized by psychological aggression may not recognize the harm they are experiencing. © 2015,© 2015 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.