SUMMARY: This bibliography examines 174 scholarly investigations: 138 empirical studies and 36 reviews and/or analyses, which demonstrate that women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners. The aggregate sample size in the reviewed studies exceeds 163,800.
Aizenman, M., & Kelley, G. (1988).
"The incidence of violence and acquaintance rape in dating relationships
among college men and women." Journal of College Student Development,
29, 305-311.
(A sample of actively dating college students <204
women and 140 men> responded to a survey examining courtship violence.
Authors report that there were no significant differences between the sexes
in self reported perpetration of physical abuse.)
Archer, J. (2000). "Sex differences in
aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review." Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651-680.
(Meta-analyses of sex differences in
physical aggression indicate that women were more likely than men to “use
one or more acts of physical aggression and to use such acts more frequently.”
In terms of injuries, women were somewhat more likely to be injured, and
analyses reveal that 62% of those injured were women.)
Archer, J. (2002). "Sex differences in physically
aggressive acts between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review."
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7, 213-351.
(Analyzing responses to the
Conflict Tactic Scale and using a data set somewhat different from the previous
2000 publication, the author reports that women are more likely than men to
throw something at their partners, as well as slap, kick, bite, punch and hit
with an object. Men were more likely than women to strangle, choke, or
beat up their partners.)
Archer, J., & Ray, N. (1989).
"Dating
violence in the United Kingdom: a preliminary study." Aggressive Behavior,
15, 337-343.
(Twenty three dating couples completed the Conflict Tactics
scale. Results indicate that women were significantly more likely
than their male partners to express physical violence. Authors also
report that, "measures of partner agreement were high" and that the correlation
between past and present violence was low.)
Arias, I., Samios, M., & O'Leary,
K. D. (1987). "Prevalence and correlates of physical aggression during
courtship." Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 82-90.
(Used Conflict
Tactics Scale with a sample of 270 undergraduates <95 men, 175 women>
and found 30% of men and 49% of women reported using some form of
aggression in their dating histories with a greater percentage of women
engaging in severe physical aggression.)
Portions of this paper were presented at the American Psychological Society Convention in Washington, D.C. May 24, 1997.
Earlier versions of this paper appeared in Sexuality and Culture, 1997, 1, 273-286, and Sexuality and Culture, 2004, 8, (No. 3-4), 140-177.
Copyright, 2005. Martin S. Fiebert