Perceived Power and Physical Violence in Marital Conflict

Relations among perceived marital power, the demand/withdraw interaction pattern, and self-reports of the use of verbal aggression and physical violence were examined in a sample of 42 married couples. Couples completed several self-report questionnaires and discussed two areas of marital dissatisfaction, one identified by the wife and one identified by the husband. These interactions were rated for the use of the demand/withdraw interaction pattern. Regression analyses revealed that lower levels of perceived power by the husbands and higher levels of perceived power by the wives were associated with the use of verbal aggression and violence by husbands and wives, the husband demand/wife withdraw interaction pattern was associated with husband's use of verbal aggression, and the wife demand/husband withdraw pattern was associated with husband's verbal aggression and violence and with wife's violence.