Multiple Forms of Aggressiveness Between Marital Partners - How Do We Identify Them?

• NCJ Number: 105251
• Journal: Journal of Marital and Family Therapy Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1987) Pages: 77-84
• Author(s): G Margolin
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

One of the difficulties in conducting research that compares violent to nonviolent marriages is determining exactly which couples are violent and what is the direction of that violence: husband-to-wife, wife-to-husband, or bidirectional.

Abstract

To illustrate this problem, data on the incidence of violence in 103 couples are presented, based on wife's report only, husband's report only, or both spouses' reports. Incidence figures based on the report of either spouse were approximately 100 percent higher than the incidence based on agreements between spouses. Although slightly more wives than husbands reported severe husband-to-wife aggression, other forms of aggression were reported by more husbands than wives. Discussion focuses on the limitations of frequency data alone in assessing marital violence. (Author abstract)