Lesbians in Currently Aggressive Relationships: How Frequently Do They Report Aggressive Past Relationships?

Abstract

Findings are reported from a survey examining the frequency with which women in currently aggressive same-sex relationships also report aggressive past relationships involving female partners, male partners, or members of their family of origin. Particular attention is paid to victims who also used aggression and their perceptions of whether their aggressive behavior was self-defensive or mutually aggressive. Results indicate that about one-fourth of participants had been victims of aggression in current relationships, roughly two-thirds had been victimized by a previous male partner, and almost three-fourths had experienced aggression by a previous female partner. Among those reporting having been both victims and users of aggression, about one-fifth had used aggression in their current relationship, almost one-third used aggression with a previous male partner, and nearly two-thirds had used aggression with a previous female partner. A majority of victims who had also used aggression with a previous male partner characterized this use as self-defense, as compared to only 30% of those who had used aggression with a female partner. Instead, aggression in relationships involving a female partner was most frequently described as mutually aggressive in nature.

Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice

“…Simply put, the evidence for theoretical patriarchy as a "cause" of wife assault is scant and contradicted by numerous studies: male dominant couples constitute only 9.6% of all couples (Coleman & Straus, 1985); women are at least as violent as men (Archer, 2000); women are more likely to use severe violence against nonviolent men than the converse (Stets & Straus, 1992a,b); powerlessness rather than power seems related to male violence; there are data contradicting the idea that men in North America find violence against their wives acceptable (Dutton, 1994;Simon et al, 2001) and that abusiveness is higher in lesbian relationships than in heterosexual relationships (Lie, Schilit, Bush, Montague, & Reyes, 1991) suggesting that intimacy and psychological factors regulating intimacy are more important than sexism (Dutton, 1994). The research evidence has not favored the simplistic patriarchal view of domestic violence: that male intimate violence is a form of gender political suppression.…”

Patterns of Sexual Coercion in Heterosexual and Non-Heterosexual Men and Women

“…Examinations of the patterns of sexual coercion among non-heterosexual men and women mainly focus on providing descriptive statistics concerning rates of perpetration and being victimized (for review, see WaldnerHaugrud, 1999; see also Kalichman & Rompa, 1995;Lie, Schilit, Bush, Montagne, & Reyes, 1991;Waldner-Haugrud & Gratch, 1997;Waterman, Dawson, & Bologna, 1989). Those studies that did compare patterns of sexual coercion among heterosexual and non-heterosexual men and women only consider how frequently individuals from these groups report being victims of sexual coercion (Baier, Rosenzweig, & Whipple, 1991;Brand & Kidd, 1986;Duncan, 1990).…”

Testing a Social-Cognitive Model of Intimate Abusiveness Among Substance-Dependent Males

“…Although thought provoking, the feminist/ sociological explanation has been soundly rebutted (e.g., see Dutton, 1994c). For instance, such an explanation cannot account for the empirical findings that all abuse rates are higher in lesbian relationships vs heterosexual relationships (Lie, Schilit, Bush, Montague, & Reyes, 1991), that abuse rates are actually lower in patriarchal cultures (Campbell, 1992), and that there is no linear association between dyadic power within the relationship and wife assault (Coleman & Straus, 1985). In fact, as Coleman and Straus (1985) point out, only about 9% of men are "power dominant" within the relationship, thus supporting the assertion by some researchers (e.g., Babcock, Waltz, Jacobson, & Gottman, 1993) that male intimate abusiveness is more strongly associated with perceived powerlessness rather than with power maintenance.…”