NCJ Number
169129
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 12 Issue: 5 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 685-703
Date Published
1997
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Dating couples were administered the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) and measures of emotional commitment, and couple members were tested at the same time with no opportunity to compare responses, to examine the link between violence and commitment.
Abstract
The study sample included 52 dating couples who completed self-report questionnaires. The CTS was used as the measure of violence and verbal aggression. The study questionnaire was given to only one couple at a time. For violence and verbal aggression, participants reported on acts inflicted and received. For commitment, they indicated their own level of commitment and rated the commitment of their partners. This permitted an examination of three similarity types: between partners, between self-rating and one's perception of the partner, and between rating of the partner and the partner's self-report. One-third of couples had at least one member who reported violence, but prevalence dropped to less than 20 percent when responses of both couple members were taken into account. There was little agreement about who did what to whom. Violent couples reported greater commitment to the relationship but were also more likely to disagree with each other's level of emotional commitment. 43 references and 1 table