ABSTRACT
Violence between social equals differs in character from violence between persons in asymmetrical relationships. Specifically, issues of contention motivating violence vary by the relative status of opponents, such that violence over symbolic issues is more common between symmetrical than asymmetrical opponents. Recent studies have substantiated these predictions in nonpartner relationships. Using data from interviews of incarcerated women, this study explores how intimate partner violence compares with violence between nonpartner opponents. We find that intimate partner violence is more likely to involve symbolic issues compared with violence between all kinds of nonpartner opponents. Consequently, intimate partnerships might be viewed as hypersymmetrical.
Subject(s)
Family Relations/psychology , Intimate Partner Violence/psychology , Psychological Distance , Sexual Partners/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Sexual Behavior/psychology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This study explores how both situations and persons contribute to the probability that a serious incident of intimate partner violence (IPV) can be avoided. Data, on both completed and avoided acts of serious partner violence, were collected from jailed women in Baltimore. Factors that increase the odds of avoiding a serious incident of IPV are a woman's age, her partner's initiation of a threat/attack, and being accompanied by a family member. Factors that decrease the odds of avoided serious violence include an indicator of what the dispute was about, her partner's substance abuse, prior experiences with avoided acts of violence, and lifetime arrests.
