Physical aggression in unmarried relationships: the roles of commitment and constraints

Using commitment theory, the present study explored longitudinal associations between physical aggression and various aspects of commitment and relationship stability. Participants (N = 1,278) were unmarried adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who were in a heterosexual romantic relationship at the time of the initial assessment. Of these, 51.6% reported never experiencing physical aggression in their current relationship, 12.8% reported experiencing physical aggression in the past, but not in the last year, and 35.6% reported experiencing physical aggression in the last year. As hypothesized, those who had experienced aggression in the last year were more likely to have broken up 1 year later. They also generally reported lower levels of dedication and higher levels of constraint commitment compared with those with no history of physical aggression. Among those who had experienced aggression in the last year, constraints and other commitment-related variables explained more about who broke up over time than did relationship adjustment alone, indicating the importance of measuring commitment constructs in future research about which aggressive couples are most likely to end their relationships. Clinical implications of these results are discussed, particularly in regard to preventive relationship education programs.