NCJ Number
223315
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2008 Pages: 119-123
Date Published
March 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this article is to persuade readers that ultimate causes exist alongside proximate causes in a comprehensive understanding of partner rape.
Abstract
Partner rape is a repulsive yet complex phenomenon. To understand it more fully, with the potential to reduce the incidence of partner rape and sexual coercion, both proximate and ultimate causes must be considered. Proximate explanations focus on the ‘immediate’ cause of a trait, behavior, or mechanism. Proximate explanations are how questions. Ultimate explanations are evolutionary explanations, they answer why questions related to the evolved function of a trait. Many traits are best understood as byproducts of other adaptations. To date, reviews of partner rape have focused on proximate causes of partner rape. Missing from these reviews, however, is theory and research that has examined the ultimate causes of partner rape. The purpose of this article is to discuss the complementarity of proximate and ultimate levels of analysis. In addition, it highlights the importance of integrating multiple levels of analysis when studying men’s sexual coercion of their intimate partners. References