Previous research has explored offline intimate partner violence from an evolutionary perspective, primarily focusing on the role of individual differences in perpetration and victimization. However, a current form of intimate partner violence is digital dating abuse, which involves abuse toward a romantic partner, occuring online through the use of electronic communication technology. This form of abuse differs from offline abuse, in that physical proximity is not required. Although research has focused on the effects digital dating abuse has on victims, little research has focused on the perpetration of digital dating abuse. This is important as research focused on perpetration can inform a wide range of initiatives geared toward understanding the factors which drive this behavior. Recent research has focused on evolutionary mating-relevant factors that drive the perpetration of digital dating abuse. Here, we extended and replicated previous work by reporting two studies (study 1, n = 114; study 2, n = 162) which explored the roles of mate value discrepancy, intrasexual competition, and relationship-contingent self-esteem in the perpetration of digital dating abuse. We found that mate value discrepancy (studies 1 and 2) and intrasexual competition (study 2) positively predicted the perpetration of digital dating abuse. To our knowledge, this article is the first to provide support that those who report high intrasexual competition, engage in greater levels of digital dating abuse, thus furthering theoretical advancements in this field by showing digital dating abuse is a mate retention tactic. Our findings further our understanding of online behavior in romantic relationships through an evolutionary psychological lens.

先前的研究从进化的角度探讨了离线亲密伴侣暴力，主要关注个体差异在施暴和受害中的作用。然而，目前亲密伴侣暴力的一种形式是数字约会虐待，其中包括通过使用电子通信技术在线发生的对浪漫伴侣的虐待。这种形式的滥用不同于离线滥用，因为不需要物理上的接近。尽管研究的重点是数字约会滥用对受害者的影响，但很少有研究关注数字约会滥用的实施。这很重要，因为专注于犯罪的研究可以为旨在了解驱动这种行为的因素的广泛举措提供信息。最近的研究集中在导致数字约会滥用的进化交配相关因素上。在这里，我们通过报告两项研究（研究 1，n  = 114; 研究 2，n  = 162）探讨了配偶价值差异、性内竞争和关系相关自尊在数字约会滥用行为中的作用。我们发现配偶价值差异（研究 1 和 2）和性内竞争（研究 2）正向预测数字约会滥用的实施。据我们所知，这篇文章是第一个支持那些报告高性内竞争的人从事更大程度的数字约会滥用，从而通过表明数字约会滥用是一种保留伴侣的策略来推动该领域的理论进步。我们的发现通过进化心理学的视角进一步加深了我们对恋爱关系中在线行为的理解。