Asserts that courtship and marital violence represents forms of the same phenomenon and should be examined as relationship violence. Presents a model of relationship violence based on three premises concerning courtship and marital violence. Discusses advantages and implications of a model of relationship violence for family professionals.…

Presents data on the incidence of violence in 103 couples based on wife's or husband's report only, or both spouses' reports. More reports were by one spouse rather than by both spouses. More wives reported severe husband-to-wife aggression, more husbands reported other forms of aggression. Discusses the limitations of frequency data alone in…

Examined effects of race and social class in comparative study of husband-to-wife violence experienced by 307 Black and White women. Results revealed no significant differences between proportion of Black and White women victims of marital violence. Data suggest that when social class positions are controlled, Black middle class women experienced…

Examined difference between male and female reports of violence and threats directed by the man toward the woman. In many categories, significantly more women were found at intake to report more threats and violence than their male partners. After extensive intervention these differences were not found in the more severe categories of violence.…

Evaluated self-esteem of 20 abusive husbands and made comparisons to two groups of nonviolent husbands: maritally discordant group; and satisfactorily married group. Results suggested association between wife abuse and low self-esteem in abusive husband. Abusive husbands were more likely to perceive their wives' behavior as threatening to…

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…

Male abusers (n=36) who attended a 6-month outpatient domestic abuse treatment program and their female partners completed measures of powerlessness and tolerance for being controlled, both before and after the men completed treatment. Contrary to the study's hypothesis, treatment failed to decrease abusers' powerlessness or to increase their…

Examined role of social isolation in greater incidence of aggression in cohabiting couples than married persons using national survey data from 13,017 respondents. Claims these factors are related to cohabitors' aggression: they are likely to be youthful and black; lack social control associated with participation in organizations; and tend to…

Examined demographic and situational factors related to killing of women by male intimate partners. Data from 23 men incarcerated for such homicides revealed portrait of offender as while male, aged 20-24, employed full-time prior to imprisonment, coming from stable childhood. Findings suggest that persons who are separated are most frequent…

Examination of the records of 37 school-age children whose mothers sought help from a battered women's shelter found that, although the symptoms of those who had witnessed their mothers' battering differed somewhat from those of the children who had been abused, the significant similarities warrant a redefinition of spousal abuse as a form of…

Until recently, Soviet data restrictions led to limited knowledge about wife abuse in Russia. This study adds to emerging research on Russian domestic violence by testing hypotheses derived from resource theory on the effects on wife abuse of husband's absolute resources versus spouses relative resources. Analysis of data from the 1996 National…

We evaluate the effects of marital resources and early-life experiences on recent domestic violence and attitudes about wife abuse among 2,074 married Cambodian women. Household standard of living was negatively associated with physical domestic violence. Women with 8-13 fewer years of schooling than their husbands more often experienced physical…

Reports how husband's mental state, antagonism between the disputants, and victim injury affected officers' inferences and referral decisions to battered women shelters and outpatient mental health centers. Officers' age and perceptions of: husband's mental state, wife's credibility, wife's intent, husband's responsibility, and victim injury…

This study was conducted to examine the moderating effects of attributions on the relationship between marital satisfaction and marital violence. It was predicted that distressed spouses who made more maladaptive attributions for partner behavior would be more likely to engage in marital violence than would distressed spouses who offered fewer…

Alcohol consumption is often associated with aggressive behaviors. This study compared the contexts and reasons for drinking of maritally violent men (N=44) and three maritally nonviolent comparison groups: happily married men (N=54), unhappily married men (N=41), and men who had been convicted of a violent offense, but who did not beat their…