Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Work-Home Conflict and Domestic Violence: A Test of a Conceptual Model

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Family Violence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence is examined using data from 295 adults, who worked full time and were in serious relationships. Job satisfaction, gender, gender role attitudes, type of employment, and socioeconomic status were examined as predictors of work-family conflict. Backward stepwise regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction was the only predictor of work-home conflict. Regression analyses were again conducted to determine the moderating effects of general well-being, alcohol use, family of origin violence witnessed or experienced, communication skills, and social support on the relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence. Both family of origin violence witnessed and personally experienced were revealed as moderators of this relationship. The remaining potential moderators were submitted to regression analyses to determine if they might, instead, be mediators. These analyses revealed that negative communication skills and social support mediated the relationship between work-home conflict and domestic violence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arellano, C. M., & Markman, H. J. (1995). The Managing Affect and Differences Scale (MADS): A self-report measure assessing conflict management in couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 9(3), 319–334. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.9.3.319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Morristown, NJ: General Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 575–582. doi:10.1037/h0045925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, O., Miller-Perrin, C., & Perrin, R. (2005). Family violence across the lifespan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bech, P. (1999). Health-related quality of life measurements in the assessment of pain clinic results. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 43, 893–896. doi:10.1034/j.1399-6576.1999.430906.x.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bolger, N., DeLongis, A., Kessler, R., & Wethington, E. (1989). The contagion of stress across multiple roles. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 175–183. doi:10.2307/352378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. E. (1999). Self-esteem and partner violence: A Meta-analytic review. Paper presented at the Sixth International family Violence Research Conference, Durham, NH.

  • Booth, A., & Amato, P. (1994). Parental gender role nontraditionalism and offspring outcomes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 865–877. doi:10.2307/353599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2002). Occupational Classification System Manual. Retrieved October 2, 2006, from http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/ocsm/commain.htm.

  • Cohen, S., & Hoberman, H. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13, 99–125. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1983.tb02325.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: theory, research, and application (pp. 73–94). The Hague, Holland: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagle, B., Miles, E., & Icenogle, M. (1997). Interrole conflicts and the permeability of work and family domains: are there gender differences? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50, 168–184. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1996.1569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fals-Stewart, W. (2003). The occurrence of partner physical aggression on days of alcohol consumption: a longitudinal diary study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 41–52. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.1.41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, C. M., & Ridley, C. A. (2000). The role of conflict-based communication responses and outcomes in male domestic violence toward female partners. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17, 552–573. doi:10.1177/0265407500174005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frazier, P., Tix, A., & Barron, K. (2004). Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 115–134. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R. (1994). Family violence, abuse, and neglect. In P. McHenry & S. Price (Eds.), Families and change: coping with stressful events (pp. 262–280). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88. doi:10.2307/258214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., Bedeian, A. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1987). Work experiences, job performance, and feelings of personal and family well-being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 31, 200–215. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(87)90057-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., Parasuraman, S., Granrose, C. S., Rabinowitz, S., & Beutell, N. J. (1989). Sources of work-family conflict among two-career couples. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 34, 133–153. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(89)90010-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hesse-Biber, S., & Carter, G. L. (2000). Working women in America: split dreams. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hines, D. A., & Malley-Morrison, K. (2005). Family violence in the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollingshead, A. B. (1957). Two factor index of social position. New Haven: Yale University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyle, R., & Robinson, J. (2003). Mediated and moderated effects in social psychological Research: measurement, design, and analysis issues. In C. Sansone, C. Morf & A. T. Panter (Eds.), Handbook of methods in social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. (1995). Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 283–294. doi:10.2307/353683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. (2000). Conflict and control: images of symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. In A. Booth, A. C. Crouter & M. Clements (Eds.), Couples in conflict. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, E., & Fletcher, B. (1993). An empirical study of occupational stress transmission in working couples. Human Relations, 46, 881–902. doi:10.1177/001872679304600705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, G., & Jasinski, J. (1998). Dynamics and risk factors in partner violence. In J. Jasinski & L. Williams (Eds.), Partner violence: A comprehensive review of 20 years of research, 1–43.

  • Kenny, D. A. (2006). Mediation. Retrieved January 7, 2007, from http://davidakenny.net/cm/mediate.htm.

  • Kossek, E., & Ozeki, C. (1998). Work-family conflict, policies, and the job-life satisfaction relationship: a review and directions for organizational behavior-human resources research. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 139–149. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.2.139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., & Dostal, C. (1997). Retrospective reports of family of origin divorce and abuse and college students’ pre-parental cognitions. Journal of Family Violence, 11, 331–346. doi:10.1007/BF02333421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Hankla, M., & Stormberg, C. D. (2004). The relationship behavior networks of young adults: a test of the intergenerational transmission of violence hypothesis. Journal of Family Violence, 19, 139–151. doi:10.1023/B:JOFV.0000028074.35688.4f.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, J. H., Wilson, S. M., & Beley, R. (1994). The impact of job insecurity on marital and family relationships. Family Relations, 43, 138–143. doi:10.2307/585315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding, and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1, 173–181. doi:10.1023/A:1026595011371.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mantsios, G. (2004). Class in America–2003. In P. S. Rothberg (Ed.), Race, class and gender in the United States (6th ed., pp. 193–206). New York: Worth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melzer, S. (2002). Gender, work, and intimate violence: men’s occupational violence spillover and compensatory violence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 820–832. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00820.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mignon, S., Larson, C., & Holmes, W. (2002). Family abuse: consequences, theories, and responses. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C., & O’Leary, K. (1989). Psychological aggression predicts physical aggression in early marriage. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 579–582. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.57.5.579.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C., Meyer, S., & O’Leary, K. (1994). Dependency characteristics of partner assaultive men. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 729–735. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.103.4.729.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Padavic, I., & Reskin, B. (2002). Women and men at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Partnership for Prevention. (2002). Domestic violence and the workplace. Washington, D.C.: Partnership for Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K., & Leonardelli, G. (2006). Calculation for the Sobel test. Retrieved January 7, 2007, from http://www.psych.ku.edu/preacher/sobel/sobel.htm.

  • Sagrestano, L., Heavey, C., & Christensen, A. (1999). Perceived power and physical violence in marital conflict—social influence and social power: using theory for understanding social issues. The Journal of Social Issues, 55, 65–79. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, J. B., Aasland, O. G., Babor, T. F., de le Fuente, J. R., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT). WHO Collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption—II. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 88, 791–804. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, C., Coyne, J., & Lazarus, R. (1981). The health related functions of social support. Journal of Behavior Medicine, 4, 381–406.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Sociological methodology 1982 (pp. 290–312). Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoeva, A. Z., Chiu, R. K., & Greenhaus, J. H. (2002). Negative affectivity, role stress, and work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 1–16. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2001.1812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 75–88. doi:10.2307/351733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (1990). Social stress and marital violence in a national sample of American families. In M. Straus & R. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families: risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8, 145 families (pp. 181–202). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (2004). Scoring the CTS2 and CTSPC. Retrieved September 1, 2006 from http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CTS28a3.pdf.

  • Straus, M., Gelles, R., & Steinmetz, S. (1980). Behind closed doors: violence in the American family. Garden City, NJ: Anchor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M., Hamby, S., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2): development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316. doi:10.1177/019251396017003001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallen, J. (2002). Balancing work and family: the role of the workplace. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warr, P. (1990). The measurement of well-being and other aspects of mental health. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 193–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Widom, C. S., & Maxfield, M. G. (2001). An update on the “Cycle of Violence” (NCJ Publication No. 184894). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer VanBuren Trachtenberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

VanBuren Trachtenberg, J., Anderson, S.A. & Sabatelli, R.M. Work-Home Conflict and Domestic Violence: A Test of a Conceptual Model. J Fam Viol 24, 471–483 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9246-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9246-3

Keywords

Navigation