Coercive Control, Coping-efficacy, and Mental Health in Married Individuals: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

Coercive control experiences have been found to hurt mental health in Western samples; however, little is known about its impact on societies like Pakistan, where there is more acceptance of coercive control against women than against men in a marital relationship. There is also a need to examine the paths that explain coercive control and mental health links. The current research explored the mediating role of coping self-efficacy in explaining the link between coercive control and the mental health of Pakistani men and women. A sample consisting of 250 married individuals with an age range from 25-55 years (M = 26.50, Mdn = 1.00) was collected through a purposive sampling technique using Urdu versions of Coercive Control Measure (Ahmed, 2017), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (Imtiaz, 2012) and Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (Younis, 2017). Findings revealed a negative relationship between coercive control and mental health for both male and female participants. However, the relationship strength was more significant for the male sample. Coping self-efficacy mediated the impact of coercive control on mental health issues for both samples. Results showed partial mediation for men and full mediation for women sample. These findings highlight the importance of increasing coping self-efficacy to deal with coercive control and mental health problems.