Possible predictors of
relationship violence
Men behave in certain ways to retain their partner and to
continue their relationship with her. Sometime it's sweet,
like holding hands or giving flowers, and sometimes it's a
harbinger of danger.
A study published in the latest issue
of Personal Relationships identifies several specific acts
and tactics that lead to the possibility of violence.
Vigilance over a partner's whereabouts was the
highest-ranking tactic predicting violence across the
researchers' three-study investigation. Emotional
manipulation, such as a man saying he would "die" if his
partner ever left also was predictive of violence.
Monopolization of time and the threat to punish for
infidelity also were signals of violence. Showing love and
care was among the tactics not associated with violence.
"Mate retention behaviors are designed to solve several
adaptive problems, such as deterring a partner's infidelity
and preventing defection from the mating relationship,"
author Todd K. Shackelford explains.
In
the first two studies, the researchers asked independent
samples of men and women to report on men's retention
behaviors and men's violence against their partners. In the
third study, they asked husbands and their wives to report
on men's retention behaviors and violence against wives. The
highest-ranking correlations between single acts and
violence were not consistent across the three studies. But
acts such as "dropped by unexpectedly to see what my partner
was doing" and "called to make sure my partner was where she
said she would be" were the overall third and fifth highest
predictors of violence. These acts fall into Vigilance,
which the couples reported as the highest–ranking tactic
leading to violence and the only tactic across all three
studies that uniquely predicts violence. "At a practical
level, results of these studies can potentially be used to
inform women and men, friends and relatives, of danger
signs-- the specific acts and tactics of mate retention that
portend the possibility of future violence in relationships
in order to prevent it before it has been enacted," the
authors conclude.
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This study is published in the December issue of Personal
Relationships. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this
article please contact
journalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net
Personal Relationships is an international,
interdisciplinary journal that promotes scholarship in the
field of personal relationships throughout a broad range of
disciplines, including psychology, sociology, communication
studies, anthropology, family studies, child development,
and gerontology. It is published on behalf of the
International Association for Relationship Research.
Todd K. Shackelford is Associate Professor of Psychology at
Florida Atlantic University. He has published over 120
articles, is on the Editorial Boards of 15 journals, and is
Associate Editor of the journal Personality and Individual
Differences.