430 Chapter 11■ Situational couple violence is the kind of violence that
erupts in families in response to stress, does not esca-
late, and characterizes both women and men.
■ IPV has been linked to the imbalance in power in
female–male relationships, distorted perceptions of
male–female interactions, difficulties with emotion
regulation, and lack of empathy. These theories are
more relevant to male than female perpetration of IPV.Rape and Other Forms of Sexual Coercion
In 2009, a woman filed a complaint against the
Pittsburgh Steelers two-time Super Bowl win-
ning quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, alleging
that he sexually assaulted her in a hotel room
and that hotel officials covered up the incident.
A coworker said the sex was consensual and
that the woman bragged about wanting to get
pregnant by Roethlisberger. The case is not yet
resolved. Less than one year later in 2010, Ro-
ethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a
woman in a restroom of a nightclub. Although
the district attorney did not file charges against
Roethlisberger, the NFL (National Football
League) took action and suspended him from
the first six games of the season—a penalty that
was later reduced to four games.
Sexual coercion, sexual assault, and rape
are acts of violence with numerous physical and
mental health consequences. Physical injuries
range from minor bruises to life-threatening
injuries to death. Mental health consequences
range from fear, anxiety, and depression, to
posttraumatic stress syndrome (Koss et al.,
2003). A history of sexual assault, especially
repeated assault, has been linked to physical
disease (Stein & Barrett-Connor, 2000). The
consequences can be long-lasting. One study
found greater symptoms of anxiety, depres-
sion, and sexual concerns among people whoDifficulties regulating emotions explained
the link of childhood violence to adult vio-
lence for men but not women. The inabil-
ity to regulate emotions may be particularly
troublesome for men because society has
communicated to men that they should in-
hibit their emotions.
Research also has linked male-
perpetrated IPV to lower levels of empathy.
In a laboratory study of adult couples in
which a relationship problem was discussed,
males who had perpetrated IPV in the past
scored lower in empathic accuracy than
males who had not perpetrated IPV (Clem-
ents et al., 2007). Empathic accuracy is mea-
sured by comparing how partner A actually
feels to how partner B estimates partner A
to feel. However, empathic accuracy did not
distinguish between violent and nonviolent
females.
We may know less about how it is that
females become violent in the context of in-
timate relationships because we do not pay
much attention to aggression among females
during childhood and adolescence. Because
girls are less physically aggressive than boys,
we take less notice of aggression in girls.TAKE HOME POINTS
■ The majority of research shows that women and men
are equally likely to engage in physical violence in the
context of intimate relationships—that is, IPV.
■ People are more accepting of female violence toward
men than male violence toward women.
■ Violence is associated with more negative conse-
quences for women than men.
■ There are three different kinds of IPV: intimate terror-
ism, violent resistance, and situational couple violence.
■ Intimate terrorism is violence that stems from a need to
control and typically targets women.M11_HELG0185_04_SE_C11.indd 430 6/21/11 12:43 PM