Relationships and Health 429In one study, married men watched three
videotapes of women discussing personal
problems with a therapist (these were actual
sessions) and were asked to rate at various
points in the videotape whether the women
were critical and/or rejecting of their hus-
bands (Schweinle, Ickes, & Bernstein, 2002).
In comparison to a panel of neutral judges,
the men who scored higher on a measure
of tendency toward IPV were more likely
to infer critical/rejecting feelings. Thus men
who engage in violence toward women may
be more likely to perceive interactions with
women in negative terms. These findings
suggest that violence in men is not necessar-
ily linked to features or behavior of a particu-
lar woman because all women are perceived
in more negative terms.
A personality characteristic, Masculine
Gender Role Stress (MGRS), has been linked
to this biased perception of interactions be-
tween women and men. Men who score high
on MGRS are more likely to perceive situa-
tions that challenge traditional male–female
roles as stressful. In one study, men listened
to vignettes of male–female dating partners
having a conflict and were asked to imagine
themselves in each situation (Eisler et al.,
2000). Men who scored higher on MGRS be-
came angrier, perceived their partners more
negatively, and said they would respond to
the conflict with greater verbal and physical
aggression.
Difficulties regulating emotions may
also play a role in IPV. One study showed
that adults who had been exposed to vio-
lence as children had maladaptive ways of
responding to emotions, which included the
inability to control one’s behavior when up-
set (Gratz et al., 2009). Gratz and colleagues
reasoned that children who are exposed to vi-
olence experience extreme emotions without
being taught how to respond appropriately.2005). Recall that the meta-analysis noted
that the sex difference in abuse (female
greater than male) was limited to younger
couples.
An often asked question is why women
who are victims of intimate terrorism remain
in the relationship. The answer depends
more on features of the situation than char-
acteristics of the victim. A good predictor
of whether someone stays in or leaves a re-
lationship is not how satisfied the person is
with the relationship but whether the person
has alternatives to that relationship. In one
study, women who had experienced violence
from their husbands said they stayed in the
relationship because they did not have any-
where to go and did not have a job (Kurz,
1998). Women who are more financially
dependent on their husbands and have less
support from other network members may
be less likely to leave the relationship.Theories
Some researchers view men’s abuse of
women as a reflection of the imbalance of
power in the relationship. Spousal abuse is
viewed as men’s attempt to control women
and establish dominance in their relation-
ships with women. Thus control and domi-
nance seem to be the primary motivations
behind abuse. This theory fits one kind of
IPV—intimate terrorism (Johnson, 2009).
However, establishing control and power on
a more momentary basis may be related to
situational couple violence. A study of les-
bian couples showed that IPV was related
to an imbalance of power in the relation-
ship (Eaton et al., 2008). Women who lacked
decision-making power in the relationship
were more likely to be victims of IPV.
IPV also could be linked to a distorted
perception of male–female interactions.M11_HELG0185_04_SE_C11.indd 429 6/21/11 12:43 PM