Physical Aggression and Controlling Behaviours Within Relationships Nicola Jennifer Allison ...

296 Pages·2012·7.58 MB·English

Physical Aggression and Controlling Behaviours Within Relationships
Nicola Jennifer Allison Graham-Kevan
Submitted April 2004
This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of Doctor of
Philosophy, University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
Acknowledgements
I would not have been able to complete this thesis without the help and support I
have received from the following people. I would like to thank John Archer for the
invaluable and continual support, help and encouragement I have received whilst under
his supervision. I would also like to thank Matt for believing in me and encouraging me
to embark on my doctoral research. I thank my children Kayleigh, Jay and Eve for the
patience they have shown me and also for their happy dispositions, which have helped
even on my darkest doctoral days. I would also like to thank Phyllis and Jen, without
whose practical support I could not have managed.
Contents
Abstract
Chapter 1: General introduction
1.1 Feminist theory & analysis 3
1.2 Societal beliefs about partner aggression 6
1.3 Social representations of aggression 9
1.4 Family conflict research 13
1.4.1 Reporting biases and socially desirable 21
1.5 responding
1.6 Motivations for, and consequences of, physical 23
aggression
1.7 Interim summary of literature reviewed 32
1.8 Johnson's typologies of partner aggression 34
1.9 Control 39
1.10 Evolutionary theory 46
1.2: Methodogical Issues: Scales 49
1.2.1 The Conflict Tactics Scale 49
1.2.2 Controlling Behaviour Scales 55
1.2.3 The EXPAGG 58
1.2: Research problem and research aims 59
Chapter 2: Samples and measures
2.1: Measures 64
2.1.1 The Conflict Tactics Scale 65
2.1.2 Severity of aggression: Fear and injuries 64
2.1.3 The Controlling Behaviours Scale 66
2.1.4 The EXPAGG 70
2.1.5 Summary of measures 71
2.2.1: Samples
2.2.1 Sample I :Participants and procedure 73
2.2.2 Sample 2: Participants and procedure 77
Chapter 3: Sample I, analysis I: Discriminating between patriarchal terrorism and
common couple violence
3.1: Introduction 78
3.2: Method
3.2.1 Participants and procedure 80
3.2.2 Measures 81
3.3: Results 82
3.3.1 Grouping procedure 82
3.3.2 Discriminant Function Analysis 89
3.4: Discussion 92
Chapter 4: Sample 1, Analysis 2: Do beliefs about aggression predict physical
aggression to partners?
4.1: Introduction 103
4.2: Method 107
Section 4.2.1 Participants and procedure 107
Section 4.2.2 Measures 107
107
4.3: Results
Section 4.3.1 Correlations 108
Section 4.3.2 Multiple Regressions 112
4.4: Discussion 116
ChapterS: Intimate terrorism and common couple violence: A test of Johnson's
predictions in four British samples
124
5.1: Introduction
5.2: Method 129
Section 5.2.1 Participants and procedure 129
Section 5.2.2 Measures 130
130
5.3: Results
Section 5.3.1 Cluster analysis of controlling behaviours profiles 130
Section 5.3.2 Two forms of physical aggression: 131
Controlling and non-controlling physical aggression.
Section 5.3.3 Sex and physical aggression 133
Section 5.3.4 Characteristics of intimate terrorism and common 134
couple violence for both males and females
Section 5.3.5 Perpetration of minor acts of physical aggression 135
Section 5.3.6 Perpetration of severe acts of physical aggression 136
Section 5.3.7 Partner perpetration of minor acts of physical .136
aggression
Section 5.3.8 Partner perpetration of severe acts of physical 136
aggression
Section 5.3.9 Escalation of physical aggression 136
Section 5.3.10 Injuries inflicted on partners 137
Section 5.3.11 Reciprocity of physical aggression 138
Section 5.3.12 Relative rates of perpetrator and partners use of 139
physical aggression
Section 5.3.13 Sampling strategies and the sex asymmetry debate 139
5.4: Discussion 141
Chapter 6: Does conti oIling behaviour predict physical aggression and violence to
partners?
6. I: Introduction 148
151
6.2: Method
Section 6.2.1 Participants and procedure (cid:9) 151
Section 6.2.2 Measures (cid:9) 151
151
63: Results
Section 6.3.1 (cid:9) Men (cid:9) 153
Section 6.3.2 (cid:9) Women (cid:9) 154
Section 6.3.3 (cid:9) CCV, IT, and VR (cid:9) 155
6.4: Discussion (cid:9) 159
Chapter 7: Summary of chapters 3-6 and introduction to chapters 8 & 9
7.1: Summary of the findings from chapters 3-6 (cid:9) 163
7.2: Introduction to chapters 8 & 9 (cid:9) 164
Chapter 8: Methodological issues in classification in a mixed-sex, non-selected
sample
8.1: Introduction 167
8.2: Method 169
Section 8.2.1 Participants and procedure 169
Section 8.2.1 Measures 169
170
8.3: Results
Section 8.3.1 Cluster analysis of controlling behaviours profiles 171
Section 8.3.2 Two forms of physical aggression: Controlling 172
and noncontrolling physical aggression
Section 8.3.3 Sex and physical aggression 175
Section 8.3.4 Characteristics of intimate terrorism and common 175
couple violence for both males and females
Section 8.3.5 Escalation of physical aggression 178
Section 8.3.6 Injuries inflicted on partners 178
Section 8.3.7 Reciprocity of physical aggression 179
Section 8.3.8 Relative rates of perpetrator and partners use of 180
physical aggression
Section 8.3.9 Summary of analysis using self-reports 181
Section 8.3.10 Using partner-reports to compare IT and CCV 183
Section 8.3.11 Escalation of partner's use of physical aggression 185
Section 8.3.12 Injuries sustained by victims 185
Section 8.3.13 Reciprocity of physical aggression 186
Section 8.3.14 Relative rates of perpetrator and partners use of 187
physical aggression
Section 8.3.15 Summary of analysis of partner-reports 188
8.4: Discussion 188
Chapter 9: Does controlling behaviour predict physical aggression and violence to
partners in non-selected samples?
9.1: Introduction 193
9.2: Method 195
Section 9.2.1 Participants and procedure 195
Section 9.2.2 Measures 196
9.3: Results 196
Section 9.3.1 Investigating Johnson's theory (self-reports) 196
Section 9.3.2 Investigating feminist and family conflict theories 202
(self-reports)
(cid:9)
Section 9.3.3 (cid:9) Investigating Johnson's theory (partner-reports) 205
(cid:9)
Section 9.3.4 (cid:9) Investigating feminist and family conflict 206
theories using partner-reports
(cid:9)
Section 9.3.5 (cid:9) Investigating Johnson's theory using regression 208
(cid:9)
Section 9.4: Discussion 214
Chapter 10: Summary of chapters 8 & 9 and introduction to chapter 10
(cid:9)
10.1: Summary of the findings from chapters 8 & 9 218
(cid:9)
10.2: Introduction to chapter 11 220
Chapter II: Mate guarding in heterosexual relationships: The effect of female
fecundity, mate-value, and biological capital.
(cid:9)
11.1: Introduction 221
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.1.1 Women's fecundity 222
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.1.2 Mate- value 225
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.1.3 Mating strategies 227
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.1.4 Genetic capital 228
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.1.5 The present analysis 229
(cid:9)
11.2: Method 230
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.2.1 Participants and procedure 230
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.2.2 Measures 230
(cid:9)
11 .3:Results 233
(cid:9) (cid:9)
Section 11.3.1 Does female fecundity influence controlling 233
behaviours and aggression?
Section 11.3.2 Does mate-value influence controlling behaviours 236
and aggression?
Section 11.3.3 Is expected relationship duration related to (cid:9) 238
controlling behaviours?
Section 11.3.4 Do relationships containing biological children (cid:9) 239
have lower frequencies of mate guarding behaviours
than those containing no or stepchildren?
Section 11.3.5 Do men whose partners' have children from (cid:9) 240
previous relationships use more frequent mate guarding
behaviours than those who do not have stepchildren?
Section 11.3.6 Summary of analysis (cid:9) 241
11.4: Discussion 242
Chapter 12: General Discussion
12.1: Summary of the main findings from thesis 247
Section 12.1.1 The effect of sampling procedure 247
Section 12.1.2 Physical aggression and control 249
Section 12.1.3 Self- and partner-reports 252
12.2 (cid:9) Future research 253
12.3 (cid:9) Limitations 258
12.4 (cid:9) Overall summary 264
References (cid:9) 258
Tables
2.1 The Conflict Tactics Scale 66
2.2 The Controlling Behaviours Scale items and subscale membership 68
2.2 The revised Controlling Behaviours Scale items and subtype membership 70
2.3 The instrumental and expressive items from the modified EXPAGG 72
2.4 Means (standard deviations) of demographic information by group 74
2.5 Frequency of relationship status by group 75
2.6 Means and Univariate F-ratios for physical aggression, 76
controlling behaviours, injuries and fear for male and female students
3.1 Means (standard deviations) of controlling behaviours and 85
individual acts for the four samples.
3.2 ANOVA comparisons of report by group for controlling behaviours 87
and individual acts
3.3 Classification results for discriminate fbnction derived from analysis 88
of variables obtained from respondent reports of students only.
3.4 Means and Univariate F-ratio for the 11 predictor variables of the 3 91
sample groups.
3.5 Largest absolute correlations of predictor variables with the 91
discriminate functions.
3.6 Classification results for discriminate function derived from analysis 93
of variables obtained from respondent reports.
4.1 Correlations between CTS items and the modified EXPAGG I and E 110
scales for the combined sample and subsamples
4.2 Correlations between fear and injuries, and the modified EXPAGG 1 113
and E scales for the combined sample and subsaniples
4.3 Correlations between controlling behaviours and I and E scales for 114
the whole sample and subsamples
4.4 Multiple regression of EXPAGG I and E scales onto overall CTS 115
scores for the whole sample and subsamples.
4.5 Multiple regression of EXPAGG I and E scales onto the infliction 116
of injuries to partners, for the whole sample and subsamples.
5.1 Control tactics by cluster 131
5.2 Means (and s.d.) and t-test comparisons of physically aggressive 132
and nonviolent individuals
5.3 Physical aggression by control type 133
5.4 Individual aggressive behaviour in a dyadic context, classified 134
according to relationship category
5.5 Level of escalation by type of relationship category 137
5.6 Severity of violence by relationship category measured by 138
injuries to partner
5.7 Mutuality of violence by relationship category 138
5.8 Difference in frequency ofviolence by relationship category 139
5.9 Percentages (and numbers) of participants classified each relationship 141
category by sampling strategy and gender.
6.1 Comparisons of reports by sex for controlling behaviours reported by 152
Students
6.2 Correlations of physical aggression and partner's injuries with 156
controlling behaviours.
6.3 Multiple regression of men's and women's use 157
of controlling behaviours onto the use of physical aggression
6.4 Multiple regression of men and women's use of controlling 158
behaviours onto the partner's injuries
8.1 Comparison of controlling behaviours reported by self and partners 170
8.2 Control tactics by cluster membership for self and partner reports 171
by both men and women
8.3 Crosstabulation of control by aggression 172
8.4 Individual aggressive behaviour in a dyadic context, classified 176
according to relationship category
8.5 Level of escalation by type of relationship category 179
8.6 Severity of violence by relationship category measured by 180
injuries to partner
8.7 Mutuality of violence by relationship category 181
8.8 Difference in frequency of violence by self-reports relationship 182
category
8.9 Level of escalation by type of relationship category 185
8.10 Severity of violence by relationship category measured by injuries 186
to respondent
8.11 Mutuality of violence by relationship category 187
8.12 Difference in frequency of violence by relationship category 187
9.1 Correlations of respondent's physical aggression and partner's 199
injuries with respondent's controlling behaviours.
9.2 Correlations of respondents fear and use of physical aggression 202
and infliction of injuries to their partners.
9.3 Pearson's correlations (2-tailed) of partner's physical aggression 204
and respondent's injuries with partner's controlling behaviours.
9.4 Hierarchical multiple regression (final step) of men and women's 212
use of controlling behaviours onto their use of physical aggression
injuries: Common couple violence and intimate terrorists
9.5 Hierarchical multiple regression (final step) of men and women's 213
use of controlling behaviours onto their use of physical aggression:
Victims of intimate terrorists, and men and women whole sample
11.1 Correlations between male respondents self and partner attributes 232
11.2 Correlations for female respondents self and partner attributes 233
11.3 Correlations between male and female respondents' ratings of 237
their own and their partners' mate-value, controlling behaviors,
and physical aggression
11.4 Correlations with the expected relationship duration, and 240
controlling behaviors and physical aggression
Figures
3.1 Self-reports of controlling behaviours 86
3.2 Partner-reports of controlling behaviours 88
3.3 Sell-reported use of individual acts of the CTS 88
3.4 Partner-reported use of individual acts of the CTS 88
3.5 Reports of controlling behaviours of patriarchal terrorists 882
(criminally violent prisoners' sell-reports X3)
3.6 Reports of patriarchal terrorists use of individual acts of the CTS 88
(criminally violent prisoners' sell-reports X3).
9.1 The relationship between controlling behaviours and physical aggression 200
for female intimate terrorists