Psychological aggression predicts physical aggression in early marriage.
Abstract
Psychological aggression by self and partner, physical aggression by the partner, and marital dissatisfaction were examined as longitudinal predictors of first instances of physical aggression during marriage. Subjects who were not physically aggressive at a premarital assessment were selected from a sample of 393 engaged couples. Couples participated in three subsequent assessments over the first 30 months of marriage. As hypothesized, individuals' own psychological aggression predicted their initial incidents of physical aggression in marriage. Psychological aggression by their partners also predicted initial incidents of physical aggression. Prior physical aggression by their partners was inconsistently associated with first instances of physical aggression. Contrary to our hypothesis, previous levels of marital dissatisfaction did not predict initial incidents of physical aggression. These findings were consistent across sexes. The results underscore the progression from psychological to physical abuse and have clear implications for understanding the development and prevention of interspousal aggression.
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Emotional abuse has been empirically tied to various forms of IPV.
“Specifically, emotional abuse has been empirically tied to various forms of IPV (Follingstad et al., 1990;Murphy & O'Leary, 1989;O'Leary et al., 1994;Saint-Eloi Cadely et al., 2019).”
From The relationship between emotional intimate partner violence and other forms of violence: A metaanalytic review. (2024) · cites this paper as Murphy & O'Leary, 1989
Emotional IPV perpetration often acts as a catalyst for the perpetration of other forms of violence.
“Emotional IPV perpetration often acts as a catalyst for the perpetration of other forms of violence (Cadely et al., 2019;Follingstad et al., 1990;Murphy & O'Leary, 1989;O'Leary et al., 1994;Schumacher & Leonard, 2005).”
From The relationship between emotional intimate partner violence and other forms of violence: A metaanalytic review. (2024) · cites this paper as Murphy & O'Leary, 1989
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“The assessment is based on eight components: [1] selection bias, [2] study design, [3] confounders, [4] blinding, [5] data collection methods, and [6] withdrawals and dropouts, [7] intervention integrity, and [8] analysis [27] and has previously been used in research evaluating IPV psychometric tools [28].”
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Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2006) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.10.006 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Murphy, C. M., & O'Leary, K. D.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- Published
- 1989
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 579-582
- ISSN
- 0022-006X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2117
- OpenAlex
- W2040102674
- Cited by
- 474
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 3.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (35340)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- psychological aggression, physical aggression, marital aggression, intimate partner violence, marital dissatisfaction, early marriage, engaged couples
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aggression, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Marriage, Personal Satisfaction, Spouse Abuse, Verbal Behavior
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