Abstract
Recent interest in all aspects of domestic violence has stimulated rapid proliferation of research and literature. Although the knowledge base has grown, what we don't know still far exceeds what we do know. Starting from nothing, initial research tended to “sweep with a wide broom” in an effort to develop direction. The absence of an accepted methodology produced wide sample and design variations and inconsistent findings. The urgent press for information promoted a desire to disseminate “facts” that may have been less than factually derived from research that may have originally been seen as pilot in nature. This paper discusses the methodological issues that may have contributed to some of the inconsistencies in the marital violence literature and makes suggestions for the design and interpretation of research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Coleman, K., Weinman, M. C., and Hsi, B. P. (1980). Factors affecting conjugal violence.Am. J. Psychol. 105: 197–202.
Dalton, D. A., and Kantner, J. E. (1983). Aggression in battered and non-battered women as reflected in the Hand test.Psychological Rep. 53: 703–709.
Forsstrom-Cohen, B., and Rosenbaum, A. (1985). The effects of parental marital violence on young adults: An exploratory investigation.J. Marriage Fam. 47: 467–472.
Geffner, R. (1987). Director's comments.Fam. Viol. Bull. 3: 1.
Geffner, R., Rosenbaum, A., and Hughes, H. (1988). Research issues concerning family violence. In Van Hasselt, V. B., Morrison, R. L., Bellack, A. S., and Hersen, M. (eds.),Handbook of Family Violence, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 457–481.
Gelles, R. J. (1976). Abused wives: Why do they stay?J. Marr. Fam. 38: 659–668.
Goldberg, G., and Tomianovich, M. C. (1984). Domestic violence victims in the emergency department: New findings.J. Am. Med. Ass. 251: 3259–3264.
Goldstein, D., and Rosenbaum, A. (1985). An evaluation of the self-esteem of maritally violent men.Fam. Relat. 34: 425–428.
Hornung, C. A., McCullough, B. C., and Sugimoto, T. (1981). Status relationships in marriage: Risk factors in spouse abuse.J. Marr. Fam. 43: 125–141.
Hotaling, G. T., and Sugarman, D. B. (1986). An analysis of risk markers in husband to wife violence: The current state of knowledge.Viol. Vict. 1: 101–124.
Jouriles, E. N., and O'Leary, K. D. (1985). Interspousal reliability of reports of marital violence.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 53: 419–421.
Klein, D. (1982).The problem of multiple perception in families, Unpublished Manuscript, University of Notre Dame.
Margolin, G. (1979). Conjoint marital therapy to enhance anger management and reduce spouse abuse.Am. J. Fam. Ther. 7: 13–23.
Montagu, A. (1968).Man and Aggression, Oxford University Press, New York.
O'Leary, K. D., Barling, J., Arias, I., Rosenbaum, A., Malone, J., and Tyree, A. Prevalence and stability of physical aggression between spouses, Unpublished manuscript, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Rosenbaum, A., and O'Leary, K. D. (1981). Marital violence: Characteristics of abusive couples.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 41: 63–71.
Rosenbaum, A., and O'Leary, K. D. (1986). The treatment of marital violence. In Jacobson, N. S., and Gurman, A. S. (eds.),Clinical Handbook of Marital Therapy, Guilford, New York.
Rosenbaum, A. (1986). Group treatment for abusive men: Process and outcome.Psychotherapy 23: 607–612.
Rounsaville, B. J., (1978). Battered wives: Barriers to identification and treatment.Am. J. Orthopsychiat. 48: 487–494.
Schumm, W. R., Martin, M. J., Bollman, S. R., and Jurich, A. P. (1982). Classifying family violence: Whither the woozle.J. Fam. Issues 3: 319–340.
Shainess, N. (1984).Sweet Suffering: Woman as Victim, Bobbs-Merrill, New York.
Shields, N. M., and Hanneke, C. R. (1983). Attribution processes in violent relationships: Perceptions of violent husbands and their wives.J. Appl. Social Psychol. 13: 515–527.
Star, B. (1978). Comparing battered and non-battered women.Victimol. Int. J. 3: 32–44.
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales.J. Marr. Fam. 41: 75–86.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., and Steinmetz, S. K. (1980).Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family, Doubleday, New York.
Szinovacz, M. E. (1983). Using couple data as a methodological tool: The case of marital violence.J. Marr. Fam. 45: 633–644.
Walker, L. E. A. (1979).The Battered Women, Harper and Row, New York.
Walker, L. E. A. (1981). Final report on the Battered Women Syndrome Study, Submitted to NIMH as the final report on NIMH Grant RO1MH30147.
Walker, L. E. A. (1984).The Battered Woman Syndrome, Springer, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rosenbaum, A. Methodological issues in marital violence research. Journal of Family Violence 3, 91–104 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994027
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00994027