“My way or no way”: Anarchic power, relationship satisfaction, and male violence

Abstract

It was hypothesized that couples experiencing husband violence are more likely than nonviolent couples to have “anarchic” power outcomes, that is, the failure to reach agreement or make a decision when discussing relationship problems. Three groups of U.S. couples in committed relationships participated in the current study: 41 experiencing husband violence, 23 nonviolent but maritally distressed, and 39 nonviolent‐nondistressed. The power outcome was assessed by noting which partner's solution couples adopted using both hypothetical and actual marital problem discussions. The study findings suggested that power gridlocks are related to relationship dysfunction but may not be specifically linked to husband violence among a community sample. The conclusion includes a discussion of the methodological and theoretical issues that need to be considered in future research.

Impelling and Inhibitory Forces in Aggression: Sex-of-Target and Relationship Effects

“…Control and power issues appear to be important in understanding male aggression although it has been related to both high and low levels of power in the relationship (Hotaling & Sugarman, 1986;Jin & Keat, 2010;Rehman, Holtzworth-Munroe, Herron, & Clements, 2009;Straus et al, 1980;Vives-Cases, Gil-Gonzalez, & Carrasco-Portino, 2009). Recent studies of women's motives have suggested that control may be relevant for them also although some studies have elided women's attempt to impose control with their attempts to resist male control (Olson & Lloyd, 2005).…”