NCJ Number
200858
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 157-170
Date Published
June 2003
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article examines incidents of female domestic violence against male partners within a conflict framework.
Abstract
Domestic violence has a profoundly negative effect on both individuals and their family units. This article proposes to use conflict theory in order to examine domestic violence. A discussion of previous research on conflict and domestic violence, highlights verbal aggression, problem-solving and cooperation, and avoidance and withdrawal. There is scant academic research focusing on domestic violence and conflict in which the female is the aggressor. The authors recruited 153 female volunteers for a project on conflict and disagreement. Females described their varied communication responses and the outcome these responses had on both their partners and themselves. Results indicate that seven communication response variables and four outcome variables were significantly associated with the frequency and severity of female domestic violence. Specifically, the authors found that relationships with female violence against males had more male/female unilateral verbal aggression, more mutual verbal aggression, more male verbal aggression, more male demands with partner withdrawal, more mutual avoidance, less constructive communication, and poor problem resolution with more emotional distance. The authors suggests that conflict-based communication responses and outcomes play an important role in the domestic violence of females against males. Tables, references