Back to TTM ResultsIntimate partner aggression is common and can have serious physical and emotional consequences for both members of the couple. The negative individual consequences of marital aggression range broadly from physical injury to depression and anxiety (e.g., Johnson & Bunge, 2001). Violence and its consequences have typically been investigated from an individual perspective (e.g., Johnson & Bunge, 2001). However, it is important to examine aggression in a dyadic context by examining spouses’ reports about receipt and perpetration of aggression, and to examine dyadic outcomes such as couples’ relationship quality.
Physical violence in relationships is common, particularly among younger dating and newlywed couples. Prevalence rates of intimate partner violence among married couples range anywhere from 7 to 18% for men’s self-report of perpetration and 7 to 25% for women’s self-report of perpetration in the past year (e.g., Brinkerhoff & Lupri, 1988; Grandin & Lupri, 1997; Sommer, 1994; Straus & Gelles, 1986). In engaged couples assessed one month before marriage, as many as 31% of males and 44% of females report being physically abusive towards their partners within the past year (O'Leary et al., 1989). Newlyweds may be an ideal population in which to study intimate partner violence because aggression is higher in younger relationships and it is damaging for marriages, perhaps even more so in the early years of relationship development.
Much of the research on intimate partner aggression has focused on physical violence rather than psychological or verbal abuse (e.g., Grandin & Lupri, 1997; Sommer, 1994; Straus & Gelles, 1986). Psychological aggression may be equally important to study because it is more common than physical aggression, and it is equally as damaging to individuals’ emotional well-being (Follingstad, Rutledge, Berg, Hause, & Polek, 1990). In married couples, as many as 75 to 98% of spouses report the occurrence of at least one act of psychological aggression within the past year (Lupri, Grandin, & Brinkerhoff, 1994; Testa & Leonard, 2001).
Prevalence of Aggression in the Transition to Marriage Study
At time one (just before marriage), 32 couples (of 179 participating couples) had experienced at least one act of physical aggression (e.g., pushing, shoving, or slapping their partner) in the previous 6 months. More than half (75.5%) of the couples reported the occurrence of at least one act of psychological aggression (e.g., yelling at, insulting, or threatening to hit their partner) in the previous 6 months. Further, 13.5% of husbands and 19.5% of wives had perpetrated at least one act of physical aggression, and 69.5% of husbands and 75.5% of wives had perpetrated at least one act of psychological aggression. However, the average number of acts of aggression in the previous six months was relatively low (Mean = 0.20 for physical and Mean = 1.25 for psychological aggression in the previous six months).
Wives reported perpetrating more physical and psychological aggression than did husbands. Husbands and wives did not differ in their reports of receipt of physical or psychological aggression, but wives reported receiving more physical aggression than husbands reported perpetrating. Husbands reported receiving less psychological aggression than wives reported perpetrating. There were no other differences between husbands’ and wives’ reports of receipt or perpetration of aggression.
Agreement between Spouses’ Reports of Aggression
Only 22% of couples agreed that the husband had perpetrated any physical aggression, and 31% agreed that the wives had perpetrated any physical aggression. Rates of agreement about psychological aggression were higher (58% on husbands’ psychological aggression and 62% on wives’ psychological aggression), which likely reflects the higher base rates of these behaviors in this sample.
Disagreements tended to arise because wives’ were more likely to endorse perpetration of aggression by either spouse than were husbands. The exception was husbands’ psychological aggression. In this case, husbands were more likely to endorse their own perpetration of psychological aggression compared to wives’ reports of receipt, and disagreement arose when wives’ perceived less receipt of husbands’ psychological aggression compared to husbands reports of perpetration. As expected and consistent with past research that indicates aggression is often mutually occurring in relationships, husbands’ and wives’ self-reported physical and psychological aggression were moderately correlated.
Results and Conclusions
The prevalence of physical and psychological aggression in this community sample of newlywed couples is generally consistent with previous research (e.g., O’Leary et al., 1989; Rogge & Bradbury, 1999; Testa & Leonard, 2001). Also consistent with the literature, the most common forms of physical aggression were pushing, shoving, grabbing, and throwing something (Jouriles & O’Leary, 1985; O’Leary et al., 1989). The most common forms of psychological aggression included shouting, yelling, insulting or swearing at the partner, and stomping away during a disagreement. The degree to which wives’ reported pushing, shoving, yelling, or insulting at their partners was associated concurrently with her own and her partners’ dissatisfaction. In contrast, husbands self-reported perpetration of aggression did not predict their own or their wives’ marital satisfaction. There was one exception: husbands’ self-reported psychological aggression predicted declines in his satisfaction one year later.
Acknowledgements
A manuscript based on this study is currently in preparation to be submitted for publication. This article is based in part on Kimberly Burrus’ undergraduate Honors Thesis. Preparation of this article was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Grant 410-2005-0829 awarded to Rebecca J. Cobb. The authors wish to thank Kim Bartholomew for her helpful comments on drafts of this manuscript, the research assistants who helped with data collection, and the couples who participated in this research.