Husbands' and Wives' Marital Adjustment, Verbal Aggression, and Physical Aggression as Longitudinal Predictors of Physical Aggression in Early Marriage.

Abstract

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 marriage licenses. Couples completed assessments at the time of marriage and at their 1st and 2nd anniversaries. Results of path analyses suggest that prior verbal aggression and physical aggression by both partners are important longitudinal predictors of physical aggression but do not support the role of marital adjustment as a unique predictor of subsequent physical aggression. Contrary to prior research, results also failed to support physical aggression as a unique predictor of marital adjustment.

Factors influencing the temporal relationship between alcohol consumption and experiences with aggression among college women.

“…Our finding that the odds of verbal aggression were higher on heavy drinking days compared to days of no drinking is unique and important, given that physical aggression is often preceded by verbal aggression. This is particularly true when alcohol has been used by one or more individuals involved in the aggression, or the aggression occurs within a romantic relationship (i.e., dating, marital; Parks et al, 1998;Schumacher & Leonard, 2005;Stets & Henderson, 1991).…”

Differentiation and Intimate Partner Violence

“…Most of the studies on IPV have examined risk factors for physical IPV such as relational satisfaction and marital conflict (Cano & Vivian, 2003;Lawrence & Bradbury, 2001;Panuzio & DiLillo, 2010;Schumacher & Leonard, 2005;Stith et al, 2008;Stith at al., 2004b), romantic jealousy (Babcock, Costa, & Green, 2004;Barnett, Martinez, & Bluestein, 1995;Hannawa, Spitzberg, Wiering, & Teranishi, 2006;Wilson & Daly, 1998;, and depression and anxiety (Boyle & Vivian, 1996;Maiuro et al, 1988;Pan et al, 1994;Vivian & Malone 1997). However, little research existed on the relationship of differentiation of self and physical IPV.…”

“…While Stith and colleagues (2008) caution about a cause and effect relationship between these two variables, they provided evidence that such relationships exist. The relationship between IPV and relational dissatisfaction has been consistently evidenced by a number of longitudinal studies (Lawrence & Bradbury, 2001;Panuzio & DiLillo, 2010;Schumacher & Leonard, 2005). Lawrence and Bradbury (2001) revealed that wives in relationships where there was a presence of IPV in the past year were more likely to be maritally distressed and to experience severe relational dissatisfaction at some point over the following four years.…”

Trajectories of Physical and Emotional Marital Aggression in Midlife Couples

“…Another relevant component is the interrelatedness of husbands' and wives' use of aggression over time. Previous studies speak to the reciprocal and interactional nature of aggression for some couples (Feld & Straus, 1990;Schumacher & Leonard, 2005). For example, women's use of physical violence in self-defense has been linked to an escalation in severity of male violence (Downs, Rindels, & Atkinson, 2007).…”

“…One potential component of this could be disentangling how emotional and physical aggression interact over time. Schumacher and Leonard (2005), for example, found that both verbal and physical aggression at a previous time point predicted physical aggression at a later time point. Another relevant component is the interrelatedness of husbands' and wives' use of aggression over time.…”