NCJ Number
198409
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2002 Pages: 525-540
Date Published
October 2002
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study used variables related to the use of physical aggression in dating relationships and conflict management strategies to predict the use of psychological aggression in courtship.
Abstract
This study focused on variables related to the use of physical aggression that represent both individual variables that predispose an individual to behave violently and situational variables that "set the stage" for aggression. The variables selected to reflect individual differences were personality characteristics related to a potentially heightened perception of threat (self-esteem, trait anger, Machiavellianism, neuroticism, and perceptions of risk in intimacy). The situational variables selected related to the immediate situation, the relationship in which the behaviors were displayed, and the participant's alcohol usage. Psychological aggression was operationally defined as yelling, insulting, threatening, and controlling the partner. A total of 193 females and 194 males from 2 small schools in northern New York participated in the study. A series of individual questions and inventories were used to assess the variables of interest. Respondents participated in small-group testing sessions (1-15 participants per session). Study findings suggest that the variables selected successfully predict the use of psychologically aggressive acts in courtship. Further, interactions with the sex of the participants suggest that different variables are important in the prediction of males' and females' use of psychological aggression. These differences in the relationships between the predictors and criteria for males and females suggest not only divergent predictive models but also potential motivational differences in the use of such tactics. 2 tables, 3 figures, and 40 references