ABSTRACT
Purpose: Few studies have examined gender-specific concerns within intimate relationships that may be associated with conflict escalation and intimate partner violence (IPV). While prior theorizing has emphasized issues such as men's feelings of jealousy, the role of concerns and conflict related to men's actions has not been as thoroughly investigated. We draw on the life course perspective as background for assessing conflict areas related to men's and women's actions during the young adult period, and subsequently the association between such concerns and the odds of reporting IPV in a current/most recent relationship. Method: Building on a longitudinal data set focused on a large, diverse sample (Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study, n = 904), we administered surveys that assessed whether disagreements about potential conflict areas-including but not limited to infidelity-related to male or female partner's actions. Results: Concerns about women's and men's actions were both related to the odds of reporting IPV experience, but disagreements about male partners' actions during young adulthood were actually more common, and relative to concerns about women's actions, more strongly associated with IPV. Conclusions: Research and programmatic efforts should give additional attention to specific areas around which couples' disagreements develop and conflicts sometimes escalate. A dyadic approach adds to the frequent emphasis on emotion management and control that center primarily on one partner's problematic relationship style-thus addressing the 'form' but not the 'content' of intimate partner conflicts. This approach would highlight a broader range of relationship dynamics than are currently included in theorizing and applied efforts.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To highlight the development of young adult couples' shared understandings about reasons for conflict in their relationships, views about why some disagreements included the use of aggression ("causes"), and gendered perspectives on these relationship dynamics. Background: Feminist theories have centered on relationship dynamics associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), but have focused primarily on men's concerns (e.g., jealousy) and use of violence as a means of control over female partners. The current analysis drew on symbolic interaction theory as a framework for exploring couple-level concerns, and ways in which dyadic communication contributes to these understandings, or what can be considered "micro-cultures" of conflict. Method: The study relied on in-depth interviews with a heterogeneous sample of IPV-experienced young adults who had participated in a larger longitudinal study (Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study [TARS]) and separate interviews with their partners (n = 90). Results: Analyses revealed that women's concerns about men's actions (e.g., infidelity) were frequently cited as reasons for serious conflicts, and showed significant concordance in partners' reports. Shared understandings sometimes extended to views on the role of more distal causes (e.g., family background) and the meaning(s) of each partner's use of aggression. Gendered dynamics included men's tendency to minimize women's concerns, and both partners' more open discussions of women's perpetration. Conclusions: Theories of IPV and associated programmatic efforts should include attention to the social construction of these "micro-cultures," as these shared meanings affect behavior, are potentially malleable, and add to the more intuitive focus on one-sided forces of control and constraint.
