This study uses data from the 2002 Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey to examine the prevalence of and factors associated with intimate partner violence perpetration by husbands and wives in Cebu, Philippines. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with wife-only, husband-only, and reciprocal…

Pathological personality is strongly linked with interpersonal impairment, yet no study to date has examined the relationship between concurrent personality pathology and dysfunction in marriage--a relationship that most people find central to their lives. In a cross-sectional study of a community sample of married couples (N = 82), the authors…

Compared conflictual marital interactions of 17 physically aggressive, 15 verbally aggressive, 18 withdrawing, and 15 low-conflict couples to describe behavior patterns characteristic of couples who report different marital conflict styles. Physically aggressive couples were characterized by reciprocity of hostile affect and by rigid, contingent…

Assessment of community couples (N=272) revealed that more women than men reported physically aggressing against their partners at premarriage and 18 months. At 30 months, men and women did not report significantly different rates of aggression. Likelihood of physical aggression at 30 months given aggression before marriage and at 18 months was…

Considered perceptions of relationship quality (positive communication, caring gestures, recollections of happiest times) in 81 discordant clinic and 51 nondiscordant community couples. Spouses in nondistressed community marriages reported more frequent and higher quality positive communication and longer lasting and more recent happiest memories…

Religious commitment is found to differentiate levels of both communication and physical violence for both wives and husbands in Quaker families. High levels of peace activism are associated with low levels of marital violence for wives but with high levels for husbands, which suggests that commitment to Quaker principles is confounded with…

Marital adjustment, verbal aggression, and physical aggression have long been associated in the marital literature, but the nature of their associations remains unclear. In this study, the authors examined these 3 constructs as risk factors for physical aggression during the first 2 years of marriage in 634 couples recruited as they applied for…

In this research we study the identity verification process and its effects in marriage. Drawing on identity control theory, we hypothesize that a lack of verification in the spouse identity (1) threatens stable self-meanings and interaction patterns between spouses, and (2) challenges a (nonverified) spouse's perception of control over the…

Describes a treatment program for couples who mishandle anger or are physically abusive. The treatment endorses the elimination of demonstrations of anger and elaborates upon ways to identify preliminary anger cues. Abusiveness is unacceptable. Methods to improve problem-solving skills and to enhance overall enjoyment of the relationship are also…

Investigates interspousal violence using a model of interpersonal violence derived from the aggression literature. Finds that destructive forms of communication such as verbal aggressiveness lead to physical violence, whereas constructive forms such as argumentativeness reduce the chance of escalation to physical aggression. (SR)

Data from a national sample found that cohabitors are more violent than marrieds. However, cohabitors over 30, divorced women, those with high incomes, and those who were together for over ten years, had very low rates of violence. Suggests cohabitation should not be seen as a unitary phenomenon. (Author)

Presents an integrative interpersonal-intrapsychic model of dysfunctional marital conflict. Reviews research support for the model. Discusses the therapeutic applications of the model and illustrates with a clinical example. (Author)

Estimated odds of mild and severe husband-to-wife physical aggression in 11,870 white men. Being younger, having lower income, and having alcohol problem significantly increased odds of either mild or severe physical aggression. Drug problem uniquely increased risk of severe physical aggression. Marital discord and depression further increased…

Although alcohol is frequently cited by battered wives and the general public as a cause of marital violence, few researchers actually propose a direct causal relationship between alcohol and marital violence. Interviews were conducted to investigate the role of alcohol in the violent marriages of 185 women and the nonviolent marriages of 89…

Examined relationship between verbal and physical aggression in marriage, using data from 1985 National Family Violence Re-Survey. Results indicated that when physical aggression occurred, verbal aggression occurred also. Concludes that for male-to-female aggression subculture of violence theory best explains movement from verbal to physical…