Perception of Partner Abuse and Its Impact on Marital Violence from Both Spouses

Claude Bélanger, Cynthia Mathieu, Hélène Brisebois

1Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montréal, Montreal, Canada 2Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montréal, Montreal, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.411123                

Abstract

Few studies have investigated bi-directional models of marital violence. Research suggests that female victims are also often perpetrators of violence. Accordingly, some researchers propose that we should test the hypothesis that the victim and perpetrator roles can be played by both men and women. The current study addresses this issue by attempting to understand the effect that perceptions of spousal violence will have on both partners’ level of marital violence. Our objectives were to verify the links between levels of violence and perceptions of violence by both partners, and actual self-reports of each type of violence perpetrated. We verified if self-reports and partner’s reports of violence would differ, if one partner’s abuses would influence the other partner’s abuses, and whether the spouse’s self-reported violence or the other spouse’s perception of that violence had a differential impact on the level of violence perpetrated. Twenty-three couples in which the male partner was undergoing treatment for marital violence took part in the study. Results indicate that for both partners perceptions of partner violence modulate the level of marital violence that is perpetrated. The link between perceptions and violent behaviors appears to explain female marital violence better than that it does for males. Implications based on these results are discussed.

Keywords

Marital Violence; Psychological Violence; Physical Violence; Spousal Abuse; Perception of Abuse

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Archer, J., & Ray, N. (1989). Dating violence in the United Kingdom: A preliminary study. Aggressive Behavior, 15, 337-343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1098-2337(1989)15:5<337::AID-AB2480150502>3.0.CO;2-0
[2]	Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651-680. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.651
[3]	Bradbury, T. N., & Ficham, F. D. (1995). Attribution in marriage. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 3-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.1.3
[4]	Cascardi, M., Langhinrichsen, J., & Vivian, D. (1992). Marital aggression; Impact, injury, and health correlates for husbands and wives. Archives of internal Medicine, 152, 1178-1184. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1992.00400180048007
[5]	Deal, J. E., & Wampler, K. S. (1986). Dating violence: The primacy of previous experience. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 3, 457-471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407586034004
[6]	DeMaris, A. (1992). Male versus female initiation of aggression: The case of courtship violence. In E. C. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 111-120). Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis.
[7]	Ficham, F. D. (1994). Cognition in marriage. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 3, 185-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0962-1849(05)80070-8
[8]	Fiebert, M. S., & Gonzalez, D. M. (1997). Women who initiate assaults: The reasons offered for such behavior. Psychological Reports, 80, 583-590. http://dx.doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1997.80.2.583
[9]	Follingstad, D. R., Wright, S., & Sebastian, J. A. (1990). Sex differences in motivations and effects in dating violence. Family Relations, 40, 51-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/585658
[10]	Gelles, R. J. (1974). The violent home: A study of physical aggression between husbands and wives. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
[11]	Gosselin, M., Lafontaine, M. F., & Bélanger, C. (2005). L’impact de 1’attachement sur la violence conjugale: L’état de la question. Bulletin de Psychologie, 58, 579-588. http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/bupsy.479.0579
[12]	Lafontaine, M. F. (2002). Are typologies of psychological and physical couple violence linked to romantic attachment and dyadic adjustment? Unpublished Theses, Trois-Rivieres: University of Quebec.
[13]	Lafontaine, M. F., & Lussier, Y. (2005). Does anger towards the partner mediate and moderate the link between romantic attachment and intimate violence. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 349-361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-7797-5
[14]	Lussier (1997). A French translation of the revised conflict tactics scales. Unpublished Manuscript, Trois-Rivieres: University of Quebec.
[15]	Mangdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Fagan, J., Newman, D. L., & Silva, P. A. (1997). Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21 year olds: Bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches. Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology, 65, 68-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.65.1.68
[16]	Margolin, G. (1987). The multiple forms of aggressiveness between marital partners: How do we identify them? Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 13, 77-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.1987.tb00684.x
[17]	Marshall, L. L., & Rose, P. (1987). Premarital violence: The impact of the family of origin violence, stress and reciprocity. Violence and victims, 5, 51-64.
[18]	Mason, A., & Blankenship, V. (1987). Power and affiliation motivation, stress and abuse in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 203-210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.203
[19]	Matthews, W. J. (1984). Violence in college couples. College Student Journal, 18, 150-158.
[20]	McNeely, R. L., & Mann, C. R. (1990). Domestic violence is a human issue. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 129-132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626090005001012
[21]	McQueen, D. (2011). Violence is most commonly reciprocal. The Psychiatrist, 35, 33.
[22]	O’Keefe, M. (1997). Predictors of dating violence among high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 546-568. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626097012004005
[23]	Pleck, E., Pleck, J. H., Grossman, M., & Bart, P. B. (1978). The battered data syndrome: A comment on Steinmetz’s article. Victimology: An International Journal, 2, 680-683.
[24]	Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1986). Societal change and change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 465-479. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/352033
[25]	Straus, M. A. (1995). Trends in cultural norms and rates of partner violence: An update to 1992. In S. M. Stitch, & M. A. Straus (Eds.), Understanding partner violence: Prevalence, causes, consequences, and solutions (pp. 30-33).
[26]	Strauss, M. (2001). Prevalence of violence against dating partners by male and female university students worldwide. Violence against Women, 10, 790-811. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077801204265552
[27]	Williams, J. R., Ghandour, R. M., & Kub, J. E. (2008). Female perpetration of violence in heterosexual intimate relationships. Trauma Violence Abuse, 9, 227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1524838008324418
[28]	Whitaker, D. J., Haileyesus, T., Swahn, M., & Saltzman, L. S. (2007). Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence. American Journal Public Health, 97, 941-947. http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2005.079020