The control motive and marital violence

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Criminology

Background:

• Marital violence is a complex issue with various contributing factors.
• The role of control as a motive in domestic violence requires further investigation.
• Existing research presents mixed findings on gender differences in marital aggression and control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of the control motive in marital violence.
• To investigate whether husbands engage in more marital violence than wives due to being more controlling.
• To explore gender differences in control and their relationship with different forms of marital violence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Survey of Violence and Threats of Violence Against Women and Men.
• Analyzed data from both current and former marriages.
• Employed statistical analyses to examine interactions between gender and control.

Main Results:

• Found no support for the hypothesis that husbands perpetrate more marital violence than wives because they are more controlling.
• Observed statistical interactions in former marriages: controlling or jealous former husbands were more likely to be verbally aggressive and engage in violence.
• Controlling husbands (present and former) were not significantly more likely to engage in frequent, injurious, or unprovoked violence.

Conclusions:

• Husbands and wives may differ in their methods of exerting control within marriages.
• The underlying motivation to control appears to be similar between genders, despite potential differences in expression.
• Control as a motive does not fully explain gender disparities in the frequency, severity, or provocation of marital violence.