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	Empowering Men: fighting feminist lies
Open Letter on Honesty in Academic Publishing © Peter Forster 2004

 

Dear Professor Davidson

I subscribe to the American Journal of Community Psychology, of which you
are the editor, and in the December 2003 issue you included two articles on
the subject of domestic violence: 'Moving beyond the individual' by Salazar
et al and 'Using the ESID model to reduce intimate male violence against
women' by Sullivan.

Both articles are written from the standpoint that all domestic violence is
committed by men on women. Such articles are at best misleading and at worst
deceptive, given that women commit at least as much violence on their male
partners as men commit on women partners, and that intimate partner violence
by lesbians is also a significant and under-researched problem. I am aware
that one of your research interests is violence by men on women. However, I
would like to ask that you no longer accept articles that create such a
false and dishonest impression, which can only lead to bad law and
inadequate attempts at solutions to intimate partner violence, amongst other
things. If you accept articles which only investigate male violence on
females, I would ask that at the very least they acknowledge the level of
female violence in intimate relationships.

You are probably aware of the annotated bibliography by Professor Martin
Fiebert, of studies that show women commit at least as much intimate partner
violence as men. In case you are not I have reproduced part of it below.

Sincerely

Peter Forster

--
(Dr) Peter M. Forster

- - - - bibliography begins

College and Dating - 54 Citations

No significant differences between the sexes appear in self reported
perpetration of physical abuse. A sample of actively dating college students
(204 women and 140 men) responded to a survey examining courtship
violence.
[Aizenman, M., & Kelley, G. (1988). ³The incidence of violence and
acquaintance rape in dating relationships among college men and
women,² Journal of College Student Development, 29, 305-311.]

Women were significantly more likely than their male partners to express
physical violence. Authors also report that, ³measures of partner
agreement were high² and that the correlation between past and present
violence was low. Twenty three dating couples completed the Conflict
Tactics Scale.
[Archer, J., & Ray, N. (1989). ³Dating violence in the United Kingdom:
a preliminary study,² Aggressive Behaviour, 15, 337-343]

30% of men and 49% of women reported using some form of aggression
in their dating histories, with a greater percentage of women engaging in
severe physical aggression. Used Conflict Tactics Scale with a sample of
270 undergraduates (95 men, 175 women).
[Arias, I., Samios, M., & O'Leary, K. D. (1987), ³Prevalence and
correlates of physical aggression during courtship,² Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 2, 82-90.]

Both men and women had similar experience with dating violence: 19%
of women and 18% of men admitted being physically aggressive. A
significantly greater percentage of women thought self-defense was a
legitimate reason for men to be aggressive, while a greater percentage of
men thought slapping was a legitimate response for a man or woman if
their partner was sexually unfaithful. Used Conflict Tactics Scale with a
sample of 103 male and 99 female undergraduates.
[Arias, I., & Johnson, P. (1989), ³Evaluations of physical aggression
among intimate dyads,² Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 298-307.]

15% of men and 21% of women admitted to physically abusing their
partners. Surveyed 461 college students (168 men, 293 women) with
regard to dating violence.
[Bernard, M. L., & Bernard, J. L. (1983), ³Violent intimacy: The family
as a model for love relationships,² Family Relations, 32, 283-286.]

Similar rates of mutual violence but with women reporting higher rates of
violence initiation when partner had not: 9% vs 3%. Using CTS with 526
university students (167 men, 359 women).
[Billingham, R. E., & Sack, A. R. (1986), ³Courtship violence and the
interactive status of the relationship,² Journal of Adolescent Research,
1, 315-325.]

34.3% of women reported being victims of partner aggression compared
to 55.9% of men. A sample of 161 undergraduates.
[Bookwala, J. (2002), ³The role of own and perceived partner
attachment in relationship aggression,² Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, 17, 84-100.]

Women report initiating violence with nonviolent partners more
frequently than men (22% vs 17%). 58% of women (133 out of 227) and
55% of men (43 out of 78) experienced violence in a current or recent
dating relationship. While most violence in relationships appears to be
mutual ­ 36% reported by women, 38% by men ­ the authors report that
³women reported the expression of as much or more violence in their
relationships as men.² Used CTS with 305 college students (227 women,
78 men).
[Bookwala, J., Frieze, I. H., Smith, C., & Ryan, K. (1992), ³Predictors
of dating violence: A multi variate analysis.² Violence and Victims, 7,
297-311.]

14% of the men and 18% of the women reported inflicting physical abuse,
while 10% of the men and 14% of the women reported sustaining physical
abuse within a one year period. A sample of 505 college students (298
women, 207 men) completed the CTS.
[Burke, P. J., Stets, J. E., & Pirog-Good, M. A. (1988), ³Gender
identity, self-esteem, and physical and sexual abuse in dating
relationships,² Social Psychology Quarterly, 51, 272-285.]

Reviews research on dating violence and finds that men and women are
equally likely to aggress against their partners and that " the frequency of
aggressive acts is inversely related to the likelihood of their causing
physical injury."
[Carlson, B. E. (1987), ³Dating violence: a research review and
comparison with spouse abuse,² Social Casework, 68, 16-23.]

19% of women slapped their male partner while 7% of men slapped their
partners. 13% of women kicked, bit, or hit their partners with a fist while
only 3.1% of men engaged in this activity. Used CTS with a sample of
667 unmarried college students (268 men and 399 women)
[Caulfield, M. B., & Riggs, D. S. (1992), ³The assessment of dating
aggression: Empirical evaluation of the Conflict Tactics Scale,² Journal
of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 549-558.]

26% of 168 actively dating female undergraduates at a Canadian
university indicated that they initiated physical aggression toward their
male partners. Most common reason for such behavior was because
partner was not listening to them.
[Claxton-Oldfield, S. & Arsenault, J. (1999), ³The initiation of
physically aggressive behaviour by female university students toward
their male partners: Prevalence and the reasons offered for such
behaviours,² unpublished manuscript.]

47% of university students experienced some violence in dating
relationships. The majority of experiences were reciprocal. When not
reciprocal men were three times more likely than women to report being
victims. Violent experiences in previous relationships was the best
predictor of violence in current relationships. Four hundred and ten
university students (295 women, 115 men) responding to CTS and other
instruments.
[Deal, J. E., & Wampler, K. S. (1986), ³Dating violence: The primacy
of previous experience, ³ Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,
3, 457-471.]

"When one partner could be said to be the usual initiator of violence, that
partner was most often the woman. This finding was the same for both
black and white respondents." Examined a sample of 865 white and black
college students with regard to the initiation of violence in their dating
experience. Found that 218 subjects, 80 men and 118 women, had
experienced or expressed violence in current or recent dating relationships.
[DeMaris, A. (1992), ³Male versus female initiation of aggression: The
case of courtship violence,² In E. C. Viano (Ed.), Intimate Violence:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives. (pp. 111-120). Bristol, PA: Taylor &
Francis.]

63% of the subjects were unaware of the finding that women assault men
as frequently as men assault women; a slightly higher percentage of
women than men (39% vs 32%) indicated an awareness of this finding.
With regard to accepting the validity of these findings a majority of
subjects (65%) endorsed such a result with a slightly higher percentage of
men (70% vs 64%) indicating their acceptance. Three hundred seventy
one college students (91 men, 280 women) were surveyed regarding their
knowledge and acceptance of the research finding regarding female
assaultive behavior.
Fiebert, M. S. (1996), ³College students' perception of men as victims
of women's assaultive behavior,² Perceptual & Motor Skills, 82, 49-50.]

Women are twice as likely to report perpetrating dating violence as men.
Female victims attributed male violence to a desire to gain control over
them or to retaliate for being hit first, while men believed that female
aggression was based on the female partner's wish to "show how angry they
were and to retaliate for feeling emotionally hurt or mistreated." A sample
of 495 college students (207 men, 288 women) completed the CTS and
other instruments including a "justification of relationship violence
measure."
[Follingstad, D. R., Wright, S., & Sebastian, J. A. (1991), ³Sex
differences in motivations and effects in dating violence,² Family
Relations, 40, 51-57.]

36.5% of dating females and 39.4% of dating males report being victims
of physical dating violence. In terms of perpetrating violence, 27.8% of
females while only 15.0% of males report perpetrating violence. The data
was collected from 1,965 adolescents in eighth and ninth grade in 14
schools in rural North Carolina.
[Foshee, V. A. (1996), ³Gender differences in adolescent dating abuse
prevalence, types and injuries,² Health Education Research, 11, (3)
275-286.]

55% of female college students admitted to initiating physical aggression
toward their male partners at some point in their lives. The most common
reason was that aggression was a spontaneous reaction to frustration. Two
hundred and twenty-five college women participated in a survey which
examined their past history and their rationales for initiating aggression
with male partners. Subjects also responded to 8 conflict scenarios to
provide information regarding possible reasons for the initiation of
aggression.
[Gonzalez, D. M. (1997), ³Why females initiate violence: A study
examining the reasons behind assaults on men,² Unpublished master¹s
thesis, California State University, Long Beach.]

Women are significantly more physically aggressive than men, particularly
in the areas of: pushing, slapping and punching. The study surveyed 289
college students (97 men, 186 women) using a revised formed of the
Conflict Tactics Scale.
[Harders, R. J., Struckman-Johnson, C., Struckman-Johnson, D. &
Caraway, S. J. (1998), ³Verbal and physical abuse in dating
relationships,² Paper presented at the meeting of American
Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.]

Abuse occurred at a rate of 121 per 1000 and appeared to be reciprocal
with both partners initiating violence at similar rates. Females were four
times more likely to be the sole abuser (5.7% to 1.4%). A survey of 644
high school students: 351 men, 293 women.
[Henton, J., Cate, R., Koval, J., Lloyd, S., & Christopher, S. (1983),
³Romance and violence in dating relationships,² Journal of Family
Issues, 4, 467-482.]

Equal rates of violence for men and women. Surveyed 325 students (165
men, 160 women) regarding courtship violence using Conflict Tactics
Scale.
[Laner, M. R., & Thompson, J. (1982), ³Abuse and aggression in
courting couples.² Deviant Behavior, 3, 229-244.]

"Women were more likely than men to claim themselves as abusers and
were less likely to claim themselves as victims." A sample of 422 college
students completed the Conflict Tactics Scale.
[Lo, W. A., & Sporakowski, M. J. (1989), ³The continuation of violent
dating relationships among college students,² Journal of College Student
Development, 30, 432-439.]

31% of U.S men, compared to 18% of Swedish men, reported being
victims of physical violence by female partners during the previous 12
months. 31% of U.S. women, comparted to 19% of Swedish women,
reported being victims of physical violence by male partners during the
previous 12 months. A sample of 507 Swedish students (211 men, 359
women) and 407 U.S. students (129 men, 278 women) responded to
items on the CTS.
[Lottes, I. L., & Weinberg, M. S. (!996), ³Sexual coercion among
university students: a comparison of the United States and Sweden,²
Journal of Sex Research, 34, 67-76.]

Courtship violence was experienced by 16.7 % of respondents. Authors
report that "rates of commission of acts and initiation of violence were
similar across gender." In term of injury, both men (98%) and women
(92%) reported "none or mild" effects of violence. A sample of 2,338
students (1,059 men, 1,279 women) from seven colleges were surveyed
regarding their experience of dating violence.
[Makepeace, J. M. (1986), ³Gender differences in courtship violence
victimization,² Family Relations, 35, 383-388.]

Women report expressing more physical violence than men. 52%
expressed and 62% received violence at some point in their adult
relationships. Childhood abuse emerged as a predictor of violence in adult
relationships. A survey of 308 undergraduates (152 men, 156 women).
[Marshall, L. L., & Rose, P. (1987), ³Gender, stress and violence in the
adult relationships of a sample of college students,² Journal of Social
and Personal Relationships, 4, 299-316.]
Women reported expressing more violence than men, while men reported
receiving more violence than women. Female violence was associated with
having been abused as children. Four hundred and fifty four premarital
undergraduates (249 women, 205 men) completed the CTS and other
scales.
[Marshall, L. L., & Rose, P. (1990), ³Premarital violence: The impact
of family of origin violence, stress and reciprocity,² Violence and
Victims, 5, 51-64.]

Physical abuse occurred most often among committed couples. No
significant gender differences in terms of the infliction of physical abuse
was found. Men with high power needs were more likely to be physically
abusive, while highly stressed women with high needs for affiliation and
low activity inhibition were the most likely to be physically abusive.
Investigated 156 college students (48 men, 107 women) with the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Life Experiences Survey, and CTS.
[Mason, A., & Blankenship, V. (1987), ³Power and affiliation
motivation, stress and abuse in intimate relationships,² Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 203-210.]

22.8 % of 351 college students reported at least one incident of dating
violence. Both men and women ascribed joint responsibility for violent
behavior. Both sexes, as either recipients or expressors of aggression,
interpreted violence as a form of "love." (123 men and 228 women).
[Matthews, W. J. (1984), ³Violence in college couples,² College Student
Journal, 18, 150-158.]

36% of men and 28% of women reported that they were victims of
physical aggression during the previous year. There were no differences in
reported motives for aggression between men and women, using a sample
of 1.145 students: 359 men, 786 women, responding to the CTS2.
[McCarthy, A. (2001.), ³Gender differences in the incidences of,
motives for, and consequences of, dating violence among college
students,² Unpublished Master's thesis, California State University,
Long Beach.]

38% of women and 47% of men indicated that they were victims of
physical abuse in dating relationships. Also, 26% of women and 21% of
men acknowledged that they physically assaulted their dating partner. A
survey of 163 college students, 78 men and 85 women, with a
questionnaire designed to assess involvement in dating abuse.
[McKinney, K. (1986), ³Measures of verbal, physical and sexual dating
violence by gender,² Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 14, 55-60.]
83% of women and 53% of men indicated that they would be somewhat
likely to hit their partner when a number of situations common to a
dating relationship were described to them. A sample of 180 college
students was used (88 men, 72 women).
[Milardo, R. M. (1998), ³Gender asymmetry in common couple
violence,² Personal Relationships, 5, 423-438.]

20.7% of men compared to 12.8% of women reported being kicked, bit
or hit with a fist and 6% of men compared to 3.6% of women reported
being beaten up by their heterosexual partner. Overall, men reported
greater victimization than women. A sample of 485 single college students
(230 men, 255 women) completed the CTS.
[Murphy, J. E. (1988), ³Date abuse and forced intercourse among
college students,² In G. P. Hotaling, D. Finkelhor, J. T. Kirkpatrick, &
M. A. Straus (Eds.), Family Abuse and its Consequences: New
Directions in Research, pp. 285-296.]

11.9% of girls compared to 7.4% of boys admitted to being sole
perpetrators of physical violence. 17.8% of girls and 11.6% of boys
admitted that they were both "victims and perpetrators" of physical
violence. Surveyed 256 high school students from Sacramento, CA., 135
girls, 121 boys, with the CTS. Ninety percent of students were juniors or
seniors, the majority came from middle class homes, 94% were average or
better students, and 65% were white and 35% were black, Hispanic or
Asian.
[O'Keeffe, N. K., Brockopp, K., & Chew, E. (1986), ³Teen dating
violence,² Social Work, 31, 465-468.]

22% of men and 40.5% of women reported using physical aggression
against a dating partner. 45.8% of subjects reported experiencing physical
violence in their current or most recent dating relationship. Of this total,
44.8% of women and 48% of men reported being physically aggressed
upon by their partners. A sample of 166 undergraduates (116 women, 50
men) responded to the CTS.
[Pedersen, P. & Thomas, C. D. (1992), ³Prevalence and correlates of
dating violence in a Canadian University sample,² Canadian Journal of
Behavioural Science, 24, 490-501.]

Overall, women were significantly more likely than men to be aggressors.
Specifically, in, committed relationships, women were three times as likely
as men to slap their partners, and to kick, bite or hit with the fist seven
times as often as men. In casual relationships, while the gender differences
weren't as pronounced, women were more aggressive than men. Other
findings reveal that high school students were more abusive than college
students, and that a "higher proportion of black respondents were involved
as aggressors." An opportunity sample of 195 high school and college
students from a large southern city, researchers used the Conflict Tactics
scale to examine courtship violence.
[Plass, M. S., & Gessner, J. C. (1983), ³Violence in courtship relations:
a southern sample,² Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 11, 198-202.]

Men were significantly more likely than women to report that their
partners used moderate physical force, and that they caused a greater
number of injuries requiring medical attention. This gender difference was
present for Whites and Blacks but not for Hispanics. The use of physical
force and its consequences were examined in a diverse sample of college
students. Subjects consisted of 130 whites (58 men, 72 women), 64
Blacks (32 men, 32 women), and 34 Hispanics (24 men, 10 women).
[Rouse, L. P. (1988), ³Abuse in dating relationships: A comparison of
Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics,² Journal of College Student
Development, 29, 312-319.]

34% of the women and 40% of the men reported being victims of their
partner's physical aggression. A sample of 656 college students (245 men,
411 women) completed the CTS.
[Ryan, K. A. (1998), ³The relationship between courtship violence and
sexual aggression in college students,² Journal of Family Violence, 13,
377-394.]

There were no differences between men and women with regard to the
expression of physical violence. Used the CTS with a sample of 211
college students: 92 men, 119 women.
[Sack, A. R., Keller, J. F., & Howard, R. D. (1982), ³Conflict tactics and
violence in dating situations,² International Journal of Sociology of the
Family, 12, 89-100.]

23.5% of women and 13.0% of men admitted using physical force against
a dating partner. A modified Conflict Tactics Scale was administered to
572 college students (395 women; 177 men).
[Shook, N. J., Gerrity, D. A., Jurich, J. & Segrist, A. E. (2000), Journal
of Family Violence, 15, 1-22.]

Men and women were similar in the overall amount of violence they
expressed (perpetrated), but men reported experiencing (receiving)
significantly more violence than women. Surveyed 504 college students
(116 men, 388 women) with the Conflict Tactics Scale.
[Sigelman, C. K., Berry, C. J., & Wiles, K. A. (1984), ³Violence in
college students' dating relationships,² Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 5, 530-548.]

40% of male students reported being the target of some form of physical
aggression from their female dating partners, while only 23% reported
expressing (delivering) physical aggression to their partners. Men who
were victims of emotional and physical abuse also reported greater levels
of distress and depression. Responses from 70 male undergraduates to the
CTS and a Psychological Maltreatment Inventory.
[Simonelli, C. J. & Ingram, K. M. (1998), ³Psychological distress among
men experiencing physical and emotional abuse in heterosexual dating
relationships,² Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 667-681.]

10% of men and 33% of women reported that they perpetrated at least
one type of physical aggressive behavior against their dating partner. 18%
of men and 15% of women reported receiving physical aggression from
their dating partner. A sample of 120 undergraduates (61 men, 59
women) completed the CTS.
[Simonelli, C. J., Mullis, T., Elliot, A. N., & Pierce, T. W. (2002).
Abuse by siblings and subsequent experiences of violence within the
dating relationship. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, 103-121.]

In each region, males were more likely to report being victims of physical
dating violence than females. Specifically:
30% of rural boys, 20% of urban, and 20% of suburban.
25% of rural girls, 13% of urban, and 16% of suburban.
A sample of 2,094 high school students in upper New York State
indicated their experience of physical dating violence. There were a similar
number of boys and girls surveyed, with more subjects from urban areas
than rural or suburban areas. The majority of subjects were white
non-Hispanic.
[Spencer, G. A., & Bryant, S. A. (2000), ³Dating violence: A
comparison of rural, suburban and urban teens,² Journal of Adolescent
Health, 25 (5) 302-305.]

Women were ³6 times more likely than men to use severe aggression
(19.2% vs. 3.4%) . . . Men were twice as likely as women to report
receiving severe aggression (15.7% vs. 8%).² Also found that younger
subjects and those of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to use
physical aggression. Over 30% of subjects used physical aggression in their
relationships. 22% of the men and 40% of the women reported using
some form of physical aggression.
Drawn from a random national telephone survey, daters (149 men, and
128 women) between the ages of 18 and 30, who were single, never
married and in a relationship during the past year which lasted at least
two months with at least six dates were examined with the Conflict
Tactics Scale.
[Stets, J. E. & Henderson, D. A. (1991), ³Contextual factors
surrounding conflict resolution while dating: results from a national
study,² Family Relations, 40, 29-40.]

Men and women were similar in both their use and reception of violence.
Jealousy was a factor in explaining dating violence for women. Examined
a college sample of 505 white students.
[Stets, J. E., & Pirog-Good, M. A. (1987), ³Violence in dating
relationships,² Social Psychology Quarterly, 50, 237-246.]

Found similar rates for men and women of low level physical abuse in
dating relationships. More women than men were pushed or shoved (24%
vs 10%) while more men than women were slapped (12% vs 8%). In terms
of unwanted sexual contact, 22% of men and 36% of women reported
such behavior. The most frequent category for both men (18%) and
women (19%) was the item, ³against my will my partner initiated
necking.² Examined a sample of 287 college students (118 men and 169
women).
[Stets, J. E. & Pirog-Good, M. A. (1989), ³Patterns of physical and
sexual abuse for men and women in dating relationships: A descriptive
analysis,² Journal of Family Violence, 4, 63-76.]

< 49% of men and 31% of women reported being a victim of physical
assault by their partner.
< 38% of men and 30% of women reported being a victim of sexual
coercion by their partner.
< 16% of men and 14% of women reported being seriously injured by
their partners.
This article introduced the revised CTS (CTS2) with clearer
differentiation between minor and severe violence and new scales to
measure sexual coercion and physical injury. Used the CTS2 with a sample
of 317 college students: 114 men, 203 women.
[Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B.
(1996), ³The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2). Development and
preliminary psychometric data,² Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283-316.]

9.9% of men and 9.4% of women report being injured by the opposite sex.
In terms of inflicting injuries, 10.1% of men and 8.0% of women indicated
that they inflicted injuries on their partners. A study of 1,034 dating
couples AT 2 US universities based on responses to the revised CTS
(CTS2).
[Straus, M. A., & Mouradian, V. (1999), Study of college students
report of injuries suffered in dating situations, unpublished.]

Women reported having expressed violence at higher rates than men: 329
per 1000 vs 393 per 1000. Reviewed 21 studies of dating behavior.
[Sugarman, D. B., & Hotaling, G. T. (1989), ³Dating violence:
Prevalence, context, and risk markers,² In M. A. Pirog-Good & J. E.
Stets (Eds.) Violence in dating relationships: Emerging social issues
(pp.3-32). New York: Praeger.]

24.6% of men compared to 28.4% of women expressed (used) physical
violence toward their dating partners within the past two years. Women
were twice as likely as men to slap their partners. Subjects were 336
undergraduates (167 men, 169 women) who completed a modified version
of the CTS.
[Thompson Jr., E. H. (1990), ³Courtship violence and the male role,²
Men¹s Studies Review, 7, (3) 1, 4-13.]

³A more masculine and/or less feminine gender orientation, and variations
in relationship seriousness proved to be the two strongest predictors of
both men's and women's involvement in courtship violence.² A more
extensive presentation of the author¹s 1990 article.
[Thompson Jr., E. H. (1991), ³The maleness of violence in data
relationships: an appraisal of stereotypes,² Sex Roles, 24, 261-278.]

Women more often than men (35.3% vs 20.3%) indicated that they
physically abused their partners. Using a modified version of the CTS,
authors examined courtship violence in a sample of 422 college students
(227 women, 195 men).
[Waiping, A. L., & Sporakowski, M. J. (1989), ³The continuation of
violent dating relationships among college students,² Journal of College
Student Development, 30, 432-439.]

51.5% of women used physical aggression at least once in their prior
dating relationships and, in the past year, 30.2% reported physically
aggressing against their male partners. Past use of physical aggression was
the best predictor of current aggression. The witnessing and experiencing
of parental aggression also predicted present aggression. Eight hundred
and twenty-nine 17 and 18 year-old women (representing 84% of the
females of the entering class) , entering the university for the first time
completed the CTS and other assessment instruments.
[White, J. W., & Humphrey, (1994). Women¹s aggression in
heterosexual conflicts,² Aggressive Behavior, 20, 195-202.]

37% of the men and 35% of the women inflicted some form of physical
aggression, while 39% of the men and 32% of the women received some
form of physical aggression. Using a representative sample of 2,603
women and 2,105 men.
[White, J. W., & Koss, M. P. (1991), ³Courtship violence: Incidence in
a national sample of higher education students,² Violence and Victims,
6, 247-256.]

 

Spouses - 29 Citations

11% of wives and 7% of husbands were physically aggressive, as reported
by only the wives. A sample of 94 military couples.
[Bohannon, J. R., Dosser Jr., D. A., & Lindley, S. E. (1995). ³Using
couple data to determine domestic violence rates: An attempt to
replicate previous work,² Violence and Victims, 10, 133-41.]

Twice as much wife-to-husband as husband-to-wife severe violence (10.7%
vs 4.8%). Overall violence rate (severe and mild) for husbands was 10.3%,
for wives, 13.2%. Violence was significantly higher in younger and
childless couples. Results suggest that male violence decreased with higher
educational attainment, while female violence increased. Examined
interspousal violence in a representative sample of 562 couples in Calgary,
Canada using Conflict Tactics Scale.
[Brinkerhoff, M., & Lupri, E. (1988), ³Inter-spousal violence. Canadian
Journal of Sociology, 13, 407-434.]

Women engage in the same amount of spousal violence as men. Used the
Conflict Tactics scale in a large national survey of 5,474 people.
[Brush, L. D. (1990), ³Violent Acts and injurious outcomes in married
couples: Methodological issues in the National Survey of Families and
Households,² Gender & Society, 4, 56-67.]

Among lesbians who had prior intimate relations with men, 32% had
experienced some level of physical aggression from all male partners, and
45% from only their one most recent female partner.
[Guat-Yong Lee, Rebecca Schilit, Judy Bush, Marilyn Montagne, &
Lynn Ryes, ³Lesbians in currently aggressive relationships: how
frequently do they report aggressive past relationships?² Violence and
Victims, Vol 6., 1991, pp 125-126.]

The rate of severe violence of African-American husbands to wives
decreased 43% (113 to 64/1000) from 1975 to 1985, while the rate of
severe violence of wives to husbands increased 42% (76 to 108/1000)
from 1975 to 1985. The rate of overall violence (169/1000) of husbands
to wives remained the same from 1975 to 1985, while the rate of overall
violence for wives to husbands increased 33% (153 to 204/1000) from
1975 to 1985. In 1985 the rate of abusive violence by black women was
nearly three times greater than the rate of white women. The paper
compares a sample of 147 African Americans from the 1975 National
Survey with 576 African-Americans from the 1985 National Survey with
regard to spousal violence, using the CTS.
[Hampton, R. L., Gelles, R. J., & Harrop, J. W. (1989), ³Is violence in
families increasing? A comparison of 1975 and 1985 National Survey
rates,² Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 969-980.]

5.7% of men and 3.7% of women reported being victims of domestic
assaults. With regard to injuries results reveal that women inflict serious
injuries at least as frequently as men. For example 1.8% of men and 1.2%
of women reported that their injuries required first aid, while 1.5% of men
and 1.1% of women reported that their injuries needed treatment by a
doctor or nurse. Data from the International Social Science Survey,
Australia 1996/97 was examined in which a sample of 1,643 subjects (804
men, 839 women) responded to questions about their experience with
domestic violence in the past 12 months.
[Headey, B., Scott, D., & de Vaus, D. (1999), ³Domestic violence in
Australia: Are women and men equally violent?²]

Moderate levels of agreement about abuse between partners and similar
rates of reported violence between partners. Used the Conflict Tactics
Scale with a sample of 65 couples in marriage therapy and 37 couples
from the community.
[Jouriles, E. N., & O'leary, K. D. (1985). ³Interpersonal reliability of
reports of marital violence,² Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 53, 419-421.]

Husband to wife severe aggression was found to be 3.8%, while the rate
of wife to husband severe aggression was 4.6%. A representative sample
of 2,143 adults was used.
[Kalmuss, D. (1984), ³The intergenerational transmission of marital
aggression,² Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 11-19.]

Korean men were victimized by their wives twice as much as American
men, while Korean women were victimized by their spouses three times
as much as American women. Utilized the Conflict Tactics scale in
interviews with a random sample of 1,316 married Koreans {707 women,
609 men), compared to findings with American couples.
[Kim, K., & Cho, Y. (1992), ³Epidemiological survey of spousal abuse
in Korea, In E. C. Viano (Ed.) Intimate Violence: Interdisciplinary
Perspectives. (pp. 277-282). Bristol, PA: Taylor and Francis.]

In a clinical sample of 97 couples seeking marital therapy, the authors
found that:
< 61% of the husbands and 64% of the wives were classified as
aggressive. Of those,
< 25% of the husbands and 11% of the wives were identified as mildly
aggressive, and
< 36% of husbands and 53% of wives were classified as severely
aggressive.
68% of couples were in agreement with regard to the husband's overall
level of aggression, and 69% were in agreement on wife's overall level of
aggression. (Aggression levels were identified as ³nonviolent, mildly
violent, or severely violent.²) Where there was disagreement, 65% of
husbands (20) under-reported their partner¹s aggression and 35% (11)
over-reporting it. 57% of wives (17) were under-reporting their partner¹s
aggression and 43% (13) over-reported aggression. Used a modified
version of the CTS.
[Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., & Vivian, D. (1994), ³The correlates of
spouses¹ incongruent reports of marital aggression,² Journal of Family
Violence, 9, 265-283.]

Men and women engage in similar amounts of physical aggression within
their families of origin and against their spouses. However, women were
more aggressive to their partners than men. Aggression was more
predictable for women: i.e., if women observed parental aggression or hit
siblings they were more likely to be violent with their spouses. Using a
sample of 328 couples.
[Malone, J., Tyree, A., & O'Leary, K. D. (1989), ³Generalization and
containment: Different effects of past aggression for wives and
husbands,² Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 51, pp. 687-697.]

Husbands and wives perpetrated similar amounts of violence. Specifically,
the incidence of violence as reported by either spouse was: husband to
wife =39; wife to husband =41 out of a paid volunteer sample of 103
couples who completed the Conflict Tactics Scale.
[Margolin, G. (1987), ³The multiple forms of aggressiveness between
marital partners: how do we identify them?² Journal of Marital and
Family Therapy, Vol. 13, pp. 77-84.]

A review article which concludes that women are as violent as men in
domestic relationships.
[McNeely, R. L., & Robinson-Simpson, G. (1987), ³The truth about
domestic violence: A falsely framed issue,² Social Work, 32, 485-490.]

Women are more prone than men to engage in severely violent acts, and
"classifying spousal violence as a women's issue rather than a human issue
is erroneous."
[McNeely, R. L., & Mann, C. R. (1990), ³Domestic violence is a human
issue,² Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 129-132.]

For men, ethnicity, prior victimization, stress and marital satisfaction
predicted both perpetration and receiving of minor violence. With regard
to serious violence, the same factors predicted men's receiving of marital
violence, while ethnicity, class and sex role attitudes predicted its
perpetration.
For women, the most important predictor of receiving both minor and
serious marital violence was marital satisfaction. Class was also a
predictor.
With regard to female perpetration of marital violence, the witnessing of
parental violence was an important predictor along with class and marital
satisfaction. The social learning model worked better for women than
men. Test of a social learning theory model of marital violence, based on
data from the National Youth Survey.
[Mihalic, S. W., & Elliot, D. (1997), ³A social learning theory model of
marital violence,² Journal of Family Violence, 12, 21-46.]

18.6% of men and 12.7% of women report having been hit by their
spouse. 15.5% of men and 11.3% of women report having hit their
spouse. A sample of 297 telephone survey respondents (112 men, 185
women).
[Nisonoff, L., & Bitman, I. (1979), ³Spouse abuse: Incidence and
relationship to selected demographic variables,² Victimology, 4,
131-140.]

Among couples in their 60s and older, the incidence rates of physical
abuse are 26 per 1,000 by wives and 6 per 1,000 by husbands.
[Pillemer, K. & Finkelhor, D., ³The Prevalence of elder Abuse: A
Random Sample Survey,² The Gerontologist, Vol. 28, 1988, pp. 55 -
57.]

Significantly more women (39%) than men (23%) reported engaging in
physical aggression against their current partners. Used CTS and studied
408 college students (125 men and 283 women).
[Riggs, D. S., O'Leary, K. D., & Breslin, F. C. (1990), ³Multiple
correlates of physical aggression in dating couples,² Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 5, 61-73.]

Women's rate of severe violence was 5.3% compared to a male rate of
3.4%. A random sample of 1,471 Utah households, using the Conflict
Tactics Scale.
[Rollins, B. C., & Oheneba-Sakyi, Y. (1990), ³Physical violence in Utah
households,² Journal of Family Violence, 5, 301-309.]

More women reported physically aggressing against their partners at
premarriage (44% vs 31%) and 18 months of marriage (36% vs 27%). At
30 months there was a nonsignificant but higher rate for women (32% vs
25%). Two hundred and seventy-two couples were assessed regarding
physical aggression.
[O'Leary, K. D., Barling, J., Arias, I., Rosenbaum, A., Malone, J., &
Tyree, A. (1989). ³Prevalence and stability of physical aggression
between spouses: A longitudinal analysis,² Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 57, 263-268.]

Husband to wife violence was:
Overall violence = 25% and severe violence = 5.8%;
and wife to husband was:
Overall violence = 25% and severe violence = 11.3%.
A pilot study in Great Britain, 46 couples responded to the Conflict
Tactics Scale.
[Russell, R. J. H., & Hulson, B. (1992), ³Physical and psychological
abuse of heterosexual partners,² Personality and Individual Differences,
13, 457-473.]

Both partner¹s reports were used to estimate the following lower and
upper bound rates:
Male to female violence: 5.21% and 13.61%
Female to Male violence: 6.22% and 18.21 %
Used modified CTS and examined reports of partner violence in a
representative sample of 1,635 married and cohabiting couples.
[Schafer, J., Caetano, R., & Clark, C. L. (1998), ³Rates of intimate
partner violence in the United States,² American journal of Public
Health, 88, 1702-1704.]

39.1% of women reported being physically aggressive (16.2% reporting
having perpetrated severe violence) at some point in their relationship
with their male pardner. 26.3% of men reported being physically
aggressive (with 7.6% reporting perpetrating severe violence) at some
point in their relationship with their female partner. Among the
perpetrators of partner abuse, 34.8% of men and 40.1% of women
reported observing their mothers hitting their fathers. 21% of ³males¹ and
13% of females¹ partners required medical attention as a result of a
partner abuse incident.² [ Ed. Note: read that sentence as 13% of the men
and 21% of the women required medical attention.] Results also indicate
that ³10% of women and 15% of men perpetrated partner abuse in self
defense.²
The study was in two waves: the first was from 1989-1990 and included
a random sample of 452 married or cohabiting women and 447 married
or cohabiting men from Winnipeg, Canada. The second was from
1991-1992 and included 368 women and 369 men all of whom
participated in the first wave. Subjects completed the CTS & other
assessment instruments.
[Sommer, R. (1994), ³Male and female partner abuse: Testing a
diathesis-stress model,² Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University
of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.]

39% of women physically aggressed against their male partners at some
point in their relationship. Younger women with high scores on Eysenck's
P scale were most likely to perpetrate violence. From the responses of a
subsample of 452 women, drawn from a sample of 1,257 Winnipeg
residents were analyzed using the CTS Note: The sample of subjects is the
same as the one cited in Sommer's 1994 dissertation.
[Sorenson, S. B., & Telles, C. A. (1991), ³Self reports of spousal
violence in a Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white population,²
Violence and Victims, 6, 3-15.]

Using a modified version of the CTS, examined marital violence in small
samples from six societies: Finland, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico,
Belize, and Israel (sample total: 630). Found that ³in each society the
percentage of husbands who used violence was similar to the percentage
of violent wives.² The major exception was Puerto Rico where men were
more violent. The author also reports that, ³Wives who used violence . .
. tended to use greater amounts.²
[Steinmetz, S. K. (1981), ³A cross cultural comparison of marital
abuse,² Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 8, 404-414.]

In 49.5% of cases of violent couples, both husbands and wives committed
at least one violent act, while husbands alone were violent in 27.7% of the
cases and wives alone in 22.7% of the cases. Found that 148 violent
husbands had an average number of 7.1 aggressive acts per year while the
177 violent wives averaged 6.8 aggressive acts per year. Reviews data from
the 1975 National Survey. Examined a subsample of 325 violent couples.
[Straus, M. (1980), ³Victims and aggressors in marital violence,²
American Behavioral Scientist, 23, 681-704.]

Reviews the literature and concludes that women initiate physical assaults
on their partners as often as men do.
[Straus, M. A. (1993), ³Physical assaults by wives: A major social
problem,² In R. J. Gelles & D. R. Loseke (Eds.), Current controversies
on family violence pp. 67-87. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.]
Men and women assaulted each other at approximately equally rates, with
women engaging in minor acts of violence at a higher rate than men.
Sample size in 1975 survey = 2,143; sample size in 1985 survey = 6,002.
Reviewed data from two large sample national violence surveys of married
couples
[Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1986), ³Societal change and change in
family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys,²
Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 465-479.]

In terms of religion, found that Jewish men had the lowest rates of abusive
spousal violence (1%), while Jewish women had a rate of abusive spousal
violence which was more than double the rate for Protestant women (7%),
pp. 128-133. Abusive violence was defined as an ³act which has a high
potential for injuring the person being hit,² pp.21-2. Reports findings
from National Family Violence survey conducted in 1975.
[Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S K. (1981), Behind closed
doors: Violence in the American family, Garden City, NJ: Anchor.]

53% of wives who had been involved in spousal violence acknowledged
being the one to strike the first blow.
[Straus, M. A., Gelles, Physical Violence in American Families: Risk
Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families., 1990, New
Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.]

The trend of decreasing severe assaults by husbands found in the National
Survey from 1975 to 1985 has continued in the 1992 survey, while wives
maintained higher rates of assault.
[Straus, M. A., & Kaufman Kantor, G. (1994, July). ³Change in spouse
assault rates from 1975-1992: A comparison of three national surveys
in the United States,² Paper presented at the Thirteenth World
Congress of Sociology, Bielefeld, Germany.]

Approval of slapping by husbands decreased from 21% in 1968, to 13%
in 1985, to 12% in 1992, to 10% in 1994. The approval of slapping by
wives was 22% in 1968 and has not declined over the years. Compared
surveys conducted in 1968 (n = 1,176), 1985 (n = 6,002), 1992 (n =
1,970), and 1994 (n = 524).
[Straus, M. A., Kaufman Kantor, G., & Moore, D. W. (1994, August),
³Change in cultural norms approving marital violence from 1968 to
1994,² Paper presented at the American Sociological Association, Los
Angeles, CA.]

Wives¹ rates of physical aggression was somewhat higher than husbands¹.
Used Conflict Tactics Scale with 103 couples
[Szinovacz, M. E. (1983). Using couple data as a methodological tool:
The case of marital violence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45,
633-644.]

14% of students reported that their parents engaged in physical violence.
³Mothers were as likely as fathers to use actual physical force toward their
spouses.² Subjects were 382 undergraduates (246 women, 136 men) at
the Chinese University in Hong Kong. The CTS was used to assess
students' evaluation of their parents responses during family conflict.
[Tang, C. S. (1994), ³Prevalence of spouse aggression in Hong Kong,²
Journal of Family Violence, 9, 347-356.]

Women's violence is correlated with a history of hitting siblings and a
desire to improve contact with partners. A review of the literature and
discussion of results from their study attempts to predict spousal violence.
[Tyree, A., & Malone, J. (1991), ³How can it be that wives hit
husbands as much as husbands hit wives and none of us knew it?² Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological
Association.]

Authors found using a modified version of the CTS, that in a sample of 57
mutually aggressive couples, there were no significant differences between
husbands' and wives' reports concerning the frequency and severity of
assault victimization. With regard to injuries, 32 wives and 25 husbands
reported the presence of a physical injury which resulted from partner
aggression.
[Vivian, D., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (1996), ³Are bi-directionally
violent couples mutually victimized? In L. K. Hamberger & C.
Renzetti (Eds.), Domestic Partner Abuse (pp. 23-52), New York:
Springer.]

 

General Population - 19 Citations

Meta-analyses of gender differences in physical aggression indicate that
women are more likely than men to ³use one or more acts of physical
aggression and to use such acts more frequently.² In terms of injuries,
women were somewhat more likely to be injured, and analyses reveal that
62% of those injured were women.
[Archer, J. (2000). ³Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual
partners: A meta-analytic review,² Psychological Bulletin, 126,
651-680.]

Women both engaged in and initiated violence at higher rates than their
male partners. Interviews with 1,200 randomly selected Canadians (489
men, 711 women).
[Bland, R., & Orne, H. (1986). ³Family violence and psychiatric
disorder,² Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 129-137.]

A slightly higher rate of female to male violence (15.2%) than male to
female violence (14.6%). Used the Conflict Tactics Scale with a sample of
288 Quakers (130 men, 158 women).
[Brutz, J., & Ingoldsby, B. B. (1984), ³Conflict resolution in Quaker
families,² Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 21-26.]

18% of the men and 13% of the women reported being victims of physical
violence at some point in their heterosexual relationships. With regard to
current relationships, 11% of men and 5% of women reported being
victims of partner aggression. A representative sample of British men
(894) and women (971) using a modified version of the CTS.
[Carrado, M., George, M. J., Loxam, E., Jones, L., & Templar, D.
(1996), ³Aggression in British heterosexual relationships: a descriptive
analyses,² Aggressive Behaviour, 22, 401-415.]

While society in general as well as the media portray women as ³recipients
of domestic violence . . . epidemiological surveys on the distribution of
violent behavior between adult partners suggest gender parity.² The
authors reviewed the domestic violence literature.
[Coney, N. S., & Mackey, W. C. (1999), ³The feminization of domestic
violence in America: The woozle effect goes beyond rhetoric,² Journal
of Men¹s Studies, 8, (1) 45-58.]

In a New Orleans inner-city emergency department, 28% of the men and
33% of the women were victims of past physical violence while 20% of the
men and 19% of the women reported being current victims of physical
violence. In terms of ethnicity, 82% of subjects were African-American.
Authors report that there was a significant difference in the number of
women vs. men who reported past abuse to the police: 19% of women, 6%
of men. Assessed 516 patients (233 men, 283 women) with the Index of
Spousal Abuse, a scale to measure domestic violence.
[Ernst, A. A., Nick, T. G., Weiss, S. J., Houry, D., & Mills, T. (1997),
³Domestic violence in an inner-city ED,² Annals of Emergency
Medicine, 30, 190-197.]

One hundred and nine men and 111 women from Adelaide, South
Australia, were presented with a hypothetical scenario in which either a
husband or wife perpetrated domestic violence. Participants were
significantly more negative in their evaluation of the husband than the
wife, were more sympathetic to the wife and believed that the husband
deserved a harsher penalty for his behavior
[Feather, N. T. (1996), ³Domestic violence, gender and perceptions of
justice,² Sex Roles, 35, 507-519.]

29% of women (285 of the 958 sample) revealed that they initiated
assaults during the past five years. Women in their 20's were more likely
to aggress than women aged 30 and above. In terms of reasons, women
appear to aggress because they did not believe that their male victims
would be injured or would retaliate. Women also claimed that they
assaulted their male partners because they wished to engage their
attention, particularly emotionally. A sample of 968 women, drawn
primarily from college courses in the Southern California area, were
surveyed regarding their initiation of physical assaults on their male
partners.
[Fiebert, M. S., & Gonzalez, D. M. (1997), ³Women who initiate
assaults: The reasons offered for such behavior,² Psychological Reports,
80, 583-590.]

A review / analysis article that states, "researchers consistently have
found
that men and women in relationships, both marital and premarital engage
in comparable amounts of violence." The author also writes, "Violence by
women in intimate relationships has received little attention from policy
makers, the public, and until recently, researchers . . . battered men and
abusive women have received 'selective inattention' by both the media and
researchers."
[Flynn, C. P. (1990), ³Relationship violence by women: issues and
implications,² Family Relations, 36, 295-299.]

A thorough review of the literature which examines findings and issues
related to men as equal victims of partner abuse.
[George, M. J. (1994). ³Riding the donkey backwards: Men as the
unacceptable victims of marital violence,² Journal of Men¹s Studies, 3,
137-159.]

14% of men and 7% of women reported being assaulted by women in the
previous five years. Highest risk group were single men. The majority
(55%) of assaults on men were perpetrated by spouses, partners, or former
partners. A representative sample of 718 men and 737 women completed
the CTS and reported their experience as victims of physical assaults by
women during a five year period.
[George, M. J. (1999). ³A victimization survey of female perpetrated
assaults in the United Kingdom,² Aggressive Behaviour, 25, 67-79.]

³. . . studies clearly demonstrate that within the general population,
women initiate and use violent behaviors against their partners at least as
often as men.² An up to date scholarly analysis of couple violence.
[Goodyear-Smith, F. A. & Laidlaw, T. M. (1999), ³Aggressive acts and
assaults in intimate relationships: Towards an understanding of the
literature,² Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 17,285-304.]

Physical violence was perpetrated during the previous 12 months by
37.2% of the women and 21.8% of the men, with severe violence by
women at 18.6% and men at 5.7%. Used CTS with a sample of 861, 21-
year-olds (436 men, 425 women) in New Zealand.
[Magdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Fagan, J., Newman, D. L., & Silva, P. A.
(1997), ³Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21-
year-olds: bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological
approaches,² Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 68-78.]

6% of men and 5% of women in Nebraska indicated that they used severe
violence at least once in the previous year.
[Meredith, W. H., Abbot, D. A., & Adams, S. L. (1986), ³Family
violence in relation to marital and parental satisfaction and family
strengths,² Journal of Family Violence, 1, 299-305.]

Data was analyzed from the National Youth Survey, a longitudinal study
begun in 1976 with 1,725 subjects who were drawn from a probability
sample of households in the United States and who, in 1976, were
between the ages of 11-17. This study focussed on violence as assessed by
the CTS between male and female married or cohabiting respondents
during survey years 1983 (n=1,496), 1986 (n=1,384), 1989 (n=1,436),
and 1992 (n=1,340).
For each survey year, the prevalence rates of any violence and severe
violence were significantly higher for female to male than for male to
female. For example,
< In 1983 the rate of all male to female violence was 36.7 per 1,000,
while female to male was 48.0.
< In 1986, the rate of severe violence male to female was 9.5 per 1,000,
while the female to male rate was 22.8.
< In 1992 the rate of all violence male to female was 20.2, with a severe
violence rate male to female of 5.7 while the rate of any violence
female to male was 27.9, with a severe violence rate female to male
of 13.8.
The author notes that the decline in violence over time is attributed to
the increase in age of the subjects.
Over twice as many women as men reported assaulting a partner who
had not assaulted them during the study year. (p. 163.)
In 1986 about 20% of both men and women reported that assaults
resulted in physical injuries In other years, women were more likely to self
report personal injuries.
[Morse, B. J. (1995), ³Beyond the Conflict Tactics Scale: Assessing
gender differences in partner violence,² Violence and Victims, 10 (4)
251-272.]

Men were more likely to report being physically abused than women in
both dating and marital relationships. A sample of 130 married (48 men,
82 women) college students and 130 college students in dating
relationships (58 men, 72 women) reported their experience of physical
abuse in intimate relationships.
[Rouse, L. P., Breen, R., & Howell, M. (1988), ³Abuse in intimate
relationships. A Comparison of married and dating college students,²
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3, 414-429.]

Twenty consecutive editions of all comic strips in nine New York City
newspapers in October, 1950 were examined. Results reveal that husbands
were victims of aggression in 63% of conflict situations while wives were
victims in 39% of situations. In addition, wives were more aggressive in
73% of domestic situations. In 10% of situations, husbands and wives
were equally aggressive, and in only 17% of situations were husbands
more violent than wives.
[Saenger, G. (1963), ³Male and female relations in the American comic
strip,² in D. M. White & R. H. Abel (Eds.), The Funnies, an American
Idiom (pp. 219-231). Glencoe, NY: The Free Press.]

Men said they struck the first blow in 43.7% of cases, and their partner
hit first in 44.1% of cases and could not disentangle who hit first in
remaining 12.2%. Women report hitting first in 52.7% of cases, their
partners in 42.6% and could not disentangle who hit first in remaining
4.7%. Authors conclude that violence by women is not primarily
defensive. A sample of 297 men and 428 women.
[Stets, J. E., & Straus, M. A. (1990), ³Gender differences in reporting
marital violence and its medical and psychological consequences.² In M.
A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families:
Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families (pp.
151-166).]

< While the approval of a husband slapping his wife declined dramatically
from 1968 to 1994 (21% to 10%), the approval of a wife slapping her
husband remained at 22%.
< Severe physical assaults by men declined by 48% from 1975 to 1992
(38/1000 to 19/1000), while severe assaults by women did not change,
remaining above 40/1000.
< The most frequently mentioned reason for slapping for both partners
was sexual unfaithfulness.
< Suggests that public service announcements should be directed at
female perpetrated violence and that school based programs ³explicitly
recognize and condemn violence by girls as well as boys.²
[Straus, M. A. (1995), ³Trends in cultural norms and rates of partner
violence: An update to 1992,² in S. M. Stich & M. A. Straus (Eds.)]

³Women equal or exceed men in number of reported aggressive acts
committed within the family.² A review and analysis. Examines a variety
of explanations to account for such aggression.
[White, J. W., & Kowalski, R. M. (1994), ³Deconstructing the myth of
the nonaggressive woman: A feminist analysis,² Psychology of Women
Quarterly, 18, 487-508.]

Injuries - 16 Citations, 9 Repeats
[Repeat Entry] Meta-analysis of sex differences in physical aggression
indicate that women were more likely than men to ³use one or more acts
of physical aggression and to use such acts more frequently.² In terms of
injuries, women were somewhat more likely to be injured, and analyses
reveal that 62% of those injured were women.
[Archer, J. (2000). ³Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual
partners: A meta-analytic review,² Psychological Bulletin, 126,
651-680.]

71% of 93 couples seeking marital therapy reported at least one incident
of physical aggression in the past year. While men and women were
equally likely to perpetrate violence, women reported more severe injuries.
Half of the wives and two thirds of the husbands reported no injuries as
a result of all aggression, but wives sustained more injuries as a result of
mild aggression. Examined using the CTS and other information.
[Cascardi, M., Langhinrichsen, J., & Vivian, D. (1992), ³Marital
aggression: Impact, injury, and health correlates for husbands and
wives,² Archives of Internal Medicine, 152, 1178-1184.]

Of 492 patients (275 women, 217 men) who sought treatment in an
emergency department in a Detroit hospital, victims of domestic violence
numbered 107 (22%). While results indicate that 38% of those victims
were men and 62% were women, this gender difference did not reach
statistical significance. Respondents were mostly African-American (78%),
city dwellers (90%), and unemployed (60%).
[Goldberg, W. G., & Tomlanovich, M. C. (1984), ³Domestic violence
victims in the emergency department,² JAMA, 251, 3259-3264.]
[Repeat Entry] Women inflict serious injuries at least as frequently as
men. For example 1.8% of men and 1.2% of women reported that their
injuries required first aid, while 1.5% of men and 1.1% of women reported
that their injuries needed treatment by a doctor or nurse. Data from the
International Social Science Survey, Australia 1996/97 was examined in
which a sample of 1,643 subjects (804 men, 839 women) responded to
questions about their experience with domestic violence in the past 12
months.
[Headey, B., Scott, D., & de Vaus, D. (1999), ³Domestic violence in
Australia: Are women and men equally violent?²]

³Assaulted men are more likely than assaulted women to experience
serious attacks by being hit with an object, beat up, threatened with a
knife or being knifed.² A re-examination of the data from the most recent
National violence against women survey (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998).
[Hoff, B. H. (1999), ³The risk of serious physical injury from assault by
a woman intimate. A re-examination of National Violence against
women survey data on type of assault by an intimate.²
www.vix.com/menmag/nvawrisk.htm.]

21% of women and 19% of men reported having been physically hurt by
their heterosexual dating partner. A sample of New Zealand senior high
school students: 200 women and 173 men.
[Jackson, S. M., Cram, F. & Seymour, F. W. (2000), ³Violence and
sexual coercion in high school students¹ dating relationships,² Journal
of Family Violence, 15, 23-36.]

47% of both husbands and wives had been injured, out of a group of
young military couples.
[Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Neidign, P, & Thorn, G., ³Violent
Marriages: Gender Differences in Levels of Current Violence and Past
Abuse,² Journal of Family Violence, 1995, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 159-
175.]

[Repeat Entry] Courtship violence was experienced by 16.7 % of
respondents. Authors report that "rates of commission of acts and
initiation of violence were similar across gender." In term of injury, both
men (98%) and women (92%) reported "none or mild" effects of violence.
A sample of 2,338 students (1,059 men, 1,279 women) from seven
colleges were surveyed regarding their experience of dating violence.
[Makepeace, J. M. (1986), ³Gender differences in courtship violence
victimization,² Family Relations, 35, 383-388.]

Male victims are injured more often and more seriously than female
victims. From a data set of 6,200 cases of spousal abuse in the Detroit
area in 1978-79, it was found that men used weapons 25% of the time
while female assailants used weapons 86% of the time. 74% of men
sustained injury and of these 84% required medical care.
[McLeod, M. (1984), ³Women against men: An examination of
domestic violence based on an analysis of official data and national
victimization data,² Justice Quarterly, 1, 171-193.]

[Repeat Entry] 20% of both men and women reported that assaults
resulted in physical injuries In other years, women were more likely to self
report personal injuries.
[Morse, B. J. (1995), ³Beyond the Conflict Tactics Scale: Assessing
gender differences in partner violence,² Violence and Victims, 10 (4)
251-272.]

[Repeat Entry] Men were significantly more likely than women to report
that their partners used moderate physical force, and that they caused a
greater number of injuries requiring medical attention. This gender
difference was present for Whites and Blacks but not for Hispanics. The
use of physical force and its consequences were examined in a diverse
sample of college students. Subjects consisted of 130 whites (58 men, 72
women), 64 Blacks (32 men, 32 women), and 34 Hispanics (24 men, 10
women).
[Rouse, L. P. (1988), ³Abuse in dating relationships: A comparison of
Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics,² Journal of College Student
Development, 29, 312-319.]

[Repeat Entry] 13% of males and 21% of females required medical
attention as a result of a partner abuse incident.
The study was in two waves: the first was from 1989-1990 and included
a random sample of 452 married or cohabiting women and 447 married
or cohabiting men from Winnipeg, Canada. The second was from
1991-1992 and included 368 women and 369 men all of whom
participated in the first wave. Subjects completed the CTS & other
assessment instruments.
[Sommer, R. (1994), ³Male and female partner abuse: Testing a
diathesis-stress model,² Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University
of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.]

[Repeat Entry] 16% of men and 14% of women reported being seriously
injured by their partners.
This article introduced the revised CTS (CTS2) with clearer
differentiation between minor and severe violence and new scales to
measure sexual coercion and physical injury. Used the CTS2 with a sample
of 317 college students: 114 men, 203 women.
[Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B.
(1996), ³The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2). Development and
preliminary psychometric data,² Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283-316.]

[Repeat Entry] 9.9% of men and 9.4% of women report being injured by
the opposite sex. In terms of inflicting injuries, 10.1% men and 8.0%
indicated that they inflicted injuries on their partners. A study of 1,034
dating couples AT 2 US universities based on responses to the revised
CTS (CTS2).
[Straus, M. A., & Mouradian, V. (1999), Study of college students
report of injuries suffered in dating situations, unpublished.]

29% of male victims and 17% of female ones reported that the offender
used a weapon.
[US Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics, ³Violence by
Intimates,² March, 1998, NCJ-167237.]

[Repeat Entry] 32 wives and 25 husbands of 57 mutually aggressive
couples reported the presence of a physical injury which resulted from
partner aggression. Using a modified version of the CTS.
[Vivian, D., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (1996), ³Are bi-directionally
violent couples mutually victimized? In L. K. Hamberger & C. Renzetti
(Eds.), Domestic Partner Abuse (pp. 23-52), New York: Springer.]

 

Murder - 5 Citations

Of women who kill their mates, only 10% do so in self-defense.
[C. R. Mann, ³Getting Even? Women who kill in domestic encounters,²
Justice Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 1, March 1988, pp 33-51.]

An examination of FBI homicide data from 1976 through 1985 reports
that 9,822 wives & common law wives were killed (57% of couple
murders) compared to 7,433 husbands and common law husbands (43%)
[Maxfield, M. G. (1989), ³Circumstances in supplementary homicide
reports: Variety and validity,² Criminology, 27, 671-695.]

During the 10 year period from 1975 to 1985 found higher murder rates
of wives than husbands (43.4% vs 56.6%). Black husbands were at the
greatest risk of victimization. Spousal homicide among blacks was 8.4
times higher than that of whites. Spouse homicide rates were 7.7 times
higher in interracial marriages and the risk of victimization for both
whites
and blacks increased as age differences between spouses increased. Wives
and husbands were equally likely to be killed by firearms {approximately
72% of the time) while husbands were more likely to be stabbed and wives
more likely to bludgeoned to death. Arguments apparently escalated to
murder in 67% of spouse homicides. Examined FBI figures regarding
spousal homicides.
[Mercy, J. A., & Saltzman, L. E. (1989), ³Fatal violence among spouses
in the United States, 1975-85,² American Journal of Public Health, 79,
595-599.]

While men and women were equally likely to be victims of partner
violence in 1970, in subsequent years men, primarily black men, were
more likely to be murdered by their intimate partners. Author reports on
homicide rates in ST. Louis from 1968-1992.
[Rosenfeld, R. (1997), ³Changing relationships between men and
women. A note on the decline in intimate partner violence,² Homicide
Studies, 1, 72-83.]

Between 1976 and 1985, for every 100 men who killed their wives, about
75 women killed their husbands. Authors report original data from a
number of cities (e.g., Chicago, Detroit, Houston) where the ratio of wives
as perpetrators exceeds that of husbands. A summary of research.
[Wilson, M. I. & Daley, M. (1992), ³Who kills whom in spouse
killings? On the exceptional sex ratio of spousal homicides in the United
States,² Criminology, 30, 189-215.]

 

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