Factors associated with rape as predictors of laboratory aggression against women.

Examined the relation between factors associated with "real-world," aggression against women and laboratory aggression using 42 adult male Ss. The 1st phase of the study assessed the Ss' attitudes about aggression toward women and their sexual responsiveness to rape. In the 2nd phase, which Ss believed was a totally independent experiment, aggression was assessed within a Buss paradigm. It was found that the factors assessed in the 1st phase successfully predicted Ss' laboratory aggression in the 2nd phase. The data are interpreted as supporting the construct validity of (a) theory that suggests that common factors underlie varied acts of aggression against women, (b) the measures designed to predict aggressive tendencies, and (c) the methodology of assessing aggression in the laboratory. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spouses' reasons for not reporting existing marital aggression as a marital problem.

Questionnaires and clinical interviews reveal that over 60% of couples seeking marital therapy experience physical violence in their relationship. However, fewer than 10% of these couples spontaneously report or identify the violence as a presenting problem. Spouses' explanations for not spontaneously reporting couple violence were examined in 136 clinic couples. The top 3 reasons were as follows: (a) It is not a problem, (b) it is unstable or infrequent, and (c) it is secondary to or caused by other problems. There were no gender differences in this regard. Further, there were no differences regarding explanations offered for failure to report partner violence versus own violence. However, differences were found between mildly and severely aggressive spouses and between husband-to-wife and wife-to-husband violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trajectories of change in physical aggression and marital satisfaction.

Physical aggression and marital satisfaction were assessed in 172 newlywed couples annually over the first 4 years of marriage to examine (a) stability of aggression over time and (b) the degree to which fluctuations in aggression precede versus follow fluctuations in marital satisfaction. The stability of aggression varied as a function of initial levels of severity; spouses who were most aggressive early in marriage had greater fluctuations in aggression. Rates of change in aggression predicted changes in satisfaction more than dissatisfaction predicted aggression. Husbands' physical aggression predicted marital discord, whereas wives' aggression predicted marital dissolution. By indicating that aggression (a) is a precursor to adverse marital outcomes and (b) varies across spouses in initial levels and in patterns of temporal change, the present findings highlight the need to understand the contextual factors that govern within-person and within-couple fluctuations in intimate violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal relations between marital aggression and alcohol problems.

Relations between couples' (N = 158) marital aggression and alcohol problems were examined across a two-year period. Alcohol problems and aggression were assessed via self-report and partner-reports. Results support bidirectional relations between marital aggression and problem drinking. T1 wife problem drinking was associated with decreased T2 verbal aggression; T1 husband problem drinking was associated with increased T2 physical aggression. T1 physical aggression predicted increased T2 wife problem drinking; it predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when wife problem drinking was low. T1 verbal marital aggression predicted increased T2 husband problem drinking only when husbands engaged in greater problem drinking at T1. Results suggest that problem drinking may prevent couples from adequately handling marital disagreements, and that marital problems may lead to drinking as a form of coping with stress; couples in which the husband engages in greater problem drinking than the wife may be at increased risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical aggression and marital dysfunction: A longitudinal analysis.

Shortly after marriage, 56 couples provided data on physical aggression and other predictors of marital adjustment. At 6-month intervals over the next 4 years, spouses reported on their marital quality and stability. Results indicated that marital dysfunction was more common among aggressive than among nonaggressive couples (70% vs. 38%) and among severely aggressive than among moderately aggressive couples (93% vs. 46%). Aggression remained a reliable predictor of marital outcomes after the authors controlled for stressful events and negative communication. These findings help to refine developmental models of marital dysfunction, which often overlook the role of aggression, and can provide information for prevention programs for marital distress, which typically do not distinguish between aggressive and nonaggressive couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interspousal aggression, marital discord, and child problems.

The association between interspousal aggression and child problems was assessed after controlling for parent's general marital discord. Participants were 87 couples requesting marital therapy who had children between 5 and 12 years old. Spouses completed measures of marital aggression, marital discord, child problems, and family demographics. Marital aggression contributed unique variance to the prediction of conduct disorder, personality disorder, inadequacy-immaturity, and clinical levels of problematic child behavior after marital discord, child's age, child's sex, and Marital Discord?×?Child's Sex interaction were controlled. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shock-elicited copulation and aggression in male rats.

Assigned 112 male Sherman naive albino rats to 12 experimental and 2 no-shock groups. Ss were presented with a receptive female, a nonreceptive female, or a male rat in a whole or 1/2 of a circular chamber. Copulatory and aggressive responses (fighting and attack) were elicited by electric shock applied to the tail. The probability of obtaining either response could be experimentally shifted by manipulating cage size, shock frequency, and sex of the stimulus animal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical violence and other forms of marital aggression: Links with children's behavior problems.

Two studies examined whether physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression (e.g., threats, throwing objects) correlate with children's behavior problems in families marked by recent spousal violence. Study 1 included 55 families seeking marital therapy. Study 2 included 199 families at battered women's shelters. In the marital therapy sample, both physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing problems. In the women's shelter sample, physical violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing and internalizing problems. After accounting for the frequency of physical marital violence, forms of marital aggression other than physical violence still related to children's externalizing problems in the marital therapy sample and to children's internalizing problems in the women's shelter sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Familial correlates of aggression in nondelinquent male children.

An extension of the Sears' studies of lower class families based on a 5-year period of direct home observation of the family group. The aggressive children were more closely supervised by parents, had dominant mothers, were exposed to inconsistent methods of discipline, and had parents who were punitive but placed low demands on the children. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3FG79M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol on sexual arousal in male alcoholics.

During successive daily sessions, each of 8 29–44 yr old chronic male alcoholics received, in counterbalanced order, doses of beverage alcohol (.08, .4, .8, and 1.2 g/kg) prior to viewing nonerotic and erotic films. Measures of penile tumescence obtained by means of a penile plethysmograph showed a significant negative linear effect of increasing alcohol doses during the heterosexual and homosexual films. Ss' expectations about the effect of alcohol on sexual arousal and behavior were discrepant with these physiological findings. Consistently, Ss reported that alcohol would have no effect on their sexual arousal or would increase it. Results are discussed with reference to other studies, and it is concluded that penile tumescence is a convenient, reliable, and discriminating measure of male sexual arousal. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The functions of aggression by male teenagers.

A selectionist theory states that violence by males toward male peers originally served specific functions and violence to female peers served others. Differences in self-reported victimization and perpetration in studies of 1,452 high school students were hypothesized. In Study 1, male-to-male aggression was reported to be more prevalent than male-to-female aggression. For male-to-male aggression, perpetrator reports agreed with or exceeded victim reports, and victims were more often strangers than close friends. In contrast, for male-to-female aggression, there were consistently fewer reports from perpetrators than from victims, and victims were less often strangers than girlfriends. Study 2 obtained similar findings for reported frequency, number of victims and perpetrators, and sexual aggression. Study 3 showed that girls' aggression contrasted with that by boys with respect to intra- versus intersex aggression and perpetrator–victim agreement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective prediction of husband marital aggression within newlywed couples

This study prospectively examined a social interactional model of husband marital aggression. Young couples were assessed at the time of their 1st marriage with respect to marital conflict styles, alcohol consumption, hostility, gender identity, perceived power inequity, and history of family violence. Couples were reassessed at their 1-year anniversary, and information concerning marital aggression was collected. Most of the constructs were prospectively related to husband aggression, but these relationships were largely mediated through marital conflict styles and husband alcohol consumption, which in turn were influenced by husband's hostility, gender identity, and perceived power inequity.     

Comparative evaluation of therapeutic components associated with behavioral marital treatments.

Investigated the relative effectiveness of 3 therapeutic components common to behavioral marital therapies: procedures designed to change behavior, procedures to change attitudes, and nonspecific therapeutic effects. A hierarchical ordering of these components produced 3 treatment conditions—nonspecific, behavioral, and behavioral–attitudinal. 77 20–72 yr old couples experiencing marital distress were randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 treatment conditions and 1 of 5 paraprofessional counselors. After 4 therapy sessions, the groups were compared on measures of self-reported satisfaction (Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, Areas of Change Questionnaire and Adjective Check List), daily reported pleasing (or displeasing) relationship events (Spouse Observation Checklist), and observations of communication skillfulness (Marital Interaction Coding System). All groups showed significant decreases in negative relationship behaviors. The behavioral–attitudinal group, compared to the other groups, showed significantly greater improvement in reported marital satisfaction, pleasing behaviors, and positive communication responses. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol on aggression in male social drinkers.

Assigned 96 male undergraduates to 1 of 8 groups in a 2 * 2 * 2 factorial design. To control fully for expectation effects, 48 Ss were led to believe that they would be drinking alcohol (vodka and tonic), and 48 believed they would be drinking only tonic water. Within each of these 2 groups, 24 Ss actually received alcohol, but 24 were given only tonic. Following the beverage administration, 48 Ss were provoked to aggress by exposing them to an insulting confederate, whereas control Ss experienced a neutral interaction. Aggression was assessed by the intensity and duration of shocks administered to the confederate on a modified version of A. H. Buss's aggression apparatus. The only significant determinant of aggression was the expectation factor: Ss who believed they had consumed alcohol were more aggressive than Ss who believed they had consumed a nonalcoholic beverage, regardless of the actual alcohol content of the drinks. Ss receiving alcohol, however, showed a significant increase in a reaction time measure, regardless of the expectation condition. Provocation to aggress was also a significant determinant of aggression, but it did not interact with the beverage conditions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-control treatment of aggression in a 16-yr-old male.

Describes the treatment procedure for an adolescent male with an 11-yr history of severe temper outbursts. He was apparently successfully treated by a self-control treatment program. The case demonstrates that self-control training is a useful approach when environmental control is very limited, and it shows the relevance of A. Bandura's reciprocal interaction model of behavior as a rationale for the conduct of self-control training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are life stressors associated with marital violence?

The current study examined the link between different conceptualisations of life stressors and physical violence against spouses. Life stressors were measured in several different ways to test whether stressor frequencies and perceived impacts, life domains of stressors (i.e., loss, threat), and the nature of stressors (i.e., occupational, interpersonal) are correlates of men's and women's moderate and severe violence. Also explored were potential mediators and moderators of the stress-violence relationship. Community and clinic couples participated in this study. Results indicated that occupational and loss stressors were associated with men's violence whereas a wider array of stressors were associated with women's violence. In addition, stressors only discriminated between violent and nonviolent men whereas some stressors also discriminated between moderately and severely violent women. Depressive symptoms moderated the association between stressor impact and violence such that impact and women's violence were significantly correlated for women with elevated depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in light of theoretical and clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with Hispanic women's HIV-related communication and condom use with male partners

To determine factors influencing Hispanic women's HIV-related communication and condom use with their primary male partner, 189 Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican women were interviewed regarding sexual behaviour and condom use, relationship characteristics, perceived risk for HIV, and HIV-related communication with the primary male partner. Level of HIV-related communication with the primary male partner was associated with the woman's perceived risk for HIV and her rating of the openness with which she could communicate with her primary partner. Mexican women were less likely than Puerto Rican or Dominican women and women with multiple partners were less likely than those with one partner to communicate about HIV-related issues with their primary partner. Women reporting more condom use with their primary partner were younger, had discussed HIV-related issues more with the primary partner, and were less likely to expect negative reactions to requests for condom use than those reporting less condom use. These results suggest that prevention programmes that increase both general and HIV-specific communication between members of a couple may facilitate safer sex practices by the couple. Prevention programmes that encourage women to insist on condom use should consider the woman's expectations about her partner's reaction as a potential barrier to the initiation of safer sex practices.     

Factors associated with male workers' engagement in physical activity: white collar vs. blue collar workers

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with male workers' participation in different kinds of physical activity, noting differences between white collar and blue collar workers. This study examined the variables, perceived health status, self efficacy, perceived barriers, age, education, income, and job category (Pender, 1987) for their association with physical activity. Self efficacy and perceived health status were the cognitive-perceptual factors that predicted physical activity. Job category (e.g., blue collar vs. white collar) was found to be a highly significant predictor of physical activity. Comparing physical job requirements with the individual worker capacity can suggest to the occupational health nurse physical fitness programs that are most appropriate for individual workers.     

Cue exposure with coping skills treatment for male alcoholics: A preliminary investigation.

Although early investigations were promising, no controlled follow-up studies have investigated the effectiveness of cue exposure treatment for alcoholics. In this study, inpatient alcoholics received either cue exposure integrated with urge coping skills training (CET; n?=?22) or a contrast condition (CC) involving daily contact with assessment only (n?=?18) in addition to standard treatment. Comprehensive assessment measures were used to investigate change in process and outcome variables. In the 2nd 3 mo after treatment, the CET group included more patients who were completely abstinent, had a higher percentage of abstinent days, and tended to report fewer drinks per day than did patients in the contrast condition. The significantly greater use of coping skills during follow-up by the CET group and the significant relationship of these coping skills to decreased drinking suggest that treatment effects were due, at least in part, to the coping skills training, consistent with recent formulations. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normative data on locus of control in male alcoholics undergoing treatment.

Studies relating locus of control to alcoholic populations have not been definitive due to the potential nonhomogeneity of alcoholic subgroups and the lack of normative data for any alcoholic population. Consequently, an alcoholic could be defined as internally oriented in one study, externally oriented in another. To permit comparison within or across subgroups, normative data were gathered from 10 studies utilizing Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale with male alcoholics undergoing treatment (a total of 835 Ss). Results of these studies indicated that a score of 6 or below defined the internally controlled alcoholic, 7 or above, the externally controlled alcoholic. The distribution of locus of control scores did not differ significantly from a normal distribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)