Gender Symmetry in the Self-Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Research has not conclusively determined whether men and women are equally likely to commit intimate partner violence (IPV). One explanation for the disparity in previous findings may be gender-based differences in reporting styles. The present study investigated whether there was any gender difference in self-reported IPV prevalence. A total of 3,740 Chinese couples from a representative population in Hong Kong were interviewed. Self-reports of men-to-women and women-to-men IPV between spouses were compared. Gender was controlled for to evaluate whether age, education, the Chinese concept of face, and other violence-related characteristics would affect the self-reporting of IPV. Findings supported gender symmetry in self-reported IPV prevalence as well as a moderate interspousal agreement in the self-reports. After adjustment for covariates, face was a significant factor predicting the interspousal differences in both men-to-women and women-to-men physical IPV.

Intimate Partner Violence and Gender A/Symmetry: An Integrative Literature Review

“…We found that 32 studies used data collection instruments, of which 15 (46.87%) worked with the CTS or CTS2, or specific subscales of these instruments (Ackerman, 2012;Bates, Graham-Kevan, & Archer, 2014;Chan, 2012;Jaquier & Sullivan, 2014;Johnson et al, 2014;Leonard, Winters, Kearns-Bodkin, Homish, & Kubiak, 2014;Lövestad & Krantz, 2012;Marshall et al, 2011;Renner, Habib, Stromquist, & Peek-Asa, 2014;Sillito, 2012;Sullivan et al, 2010;Volpe et al, 2012;Zanoni, Warburton, Bussey, & McMaugh, 2014 In regard to the characteristics of participants / samples of the studies, 22 empirical studies used women and men. Of the studies that used women and men, only five conducted their research with couples (Chan, 2012;Leonard et al, 2014;Marshall et al, 2011;Renner et al, 2014;Tanha, Beck, Figueredo, & Raghavanet, 2010).…”

“…For some, the predominant was a theoretical research of controversies existent in the literature on gender a/symmetry (Chan, 2011;Enander, 2011;Hamby, 2015;LanghinrichsenRohling, 2010;Stark, 2010;Winstok, 2015). In other cases, the influence of male and female in different models of relationships was analyzed: in heterosexual individuals (Marshall, Jones, & Feinberg, 2011), homosexual couples (Messinger, 2011), married (Chan, 2012), separated (Johnson, Leone, & Xu, 2014) or dating (Hamby & Turner, 2013;Volpe, Hardie, & Cerulli, 2012). Another highlight for the goals was the interest in validating (Lehmann, Simmons, & Pillai, 2012) or exploring (Nybergh, Taft, & Krantz, 2012) instruments, as well as to answer the questions made on the validity of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) or the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) (Straus, 2012).…”

“…Of the studies that used women and men, only five conducted their research with couples (Chan, 2012;Leonard et al, 2014;Marshall et al, 2011;Renner et al, 2014;Tanha, Beck, Figueredo, & Raghavanet, 2010). Seven studies used a sample composed only of women (Goicolea, Öhman, Torres, Morras, & Edin, 2012;Jaquier & Sullivan, 2014;Lehmann et al, 2012;Messinger, 2011;Simmons, Farrar, Frazer, & Thompson, 2011;Sullivan et al, 2010;Volpe et al, 2012).…”

“…An analysis revealed six distinct categories of results, as shown in Table 2. 1) Studies show that both men and women can be perpetrators in situations of violence, however levels differ depending on the subtypes of violence (Bates et al, 2014;Chan, 2012;Corbally, 2015;Hamby & Turner, 2013;Johnson et al, 2014;Lövestad & Krantz, 2012;Melander, Noel, & Tyler, 2010;Myhill, 2015;Post, Mezey, Maxwell, & Rhodes, 2011;Tanha et al, 2010), which needs to be taken into account planning interventions (Allen, 2011;Brown, 2012;LanghinrichsenRohling, 2010;Stark, 2010). Also, violence tends to start asymmetrically and becomes symmetrical with time (Leonard et al, 2014).…”

Violence against Men as Moderated by Couple’s Self-Control Configurations

“…Some scholars have even found larger extent of violence perpetrated by females (see the metaanalysis elaborated by Archer, 2000). In this context, research should not only concentrate on prevalence and incidence rates of IPV, but it should also examine its severity, the consequences and the motivations, as well as situational aspects and the couple dynamics (e.g., Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000;Walklate, 2001;Dobash & Dobash, 2004;Johnson, 2006;Chan, 2012).…”