NCJ Number
215105
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2006 Pages: 519-535
Date Published
August 2006
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study compared different formats of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) in terms of rates of relationship aggression disclosure.
Abstract
Results revealed that the item ordering in the CTS did not significantly impact disclosure rates of relationship aggression. However, when participants’ reaction times were increased by manipulating the minimum item display duration, rates of aggression disclosure increased. The results suggest that encouraging participants to slow their responses may help to encourage greater disclosure of partner aggression. Participants were 641 individuals who were recruited from psychology classes at a State university and were involved in a romantic relationship. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions: the original CTS presented in which items are presented in a hierarchical order or the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) in which items are interspersed. Completed questionnaires were then coded and statistically analyzed. Future studies should attempt to replicate these results and may also examine possible changes in aggression disclosure based on differences in the number of CTS subscales utilized. Tables, references