Trajectories of physical and emotional marital aggression in midlife couples

Abstract

This study used three-level generalized hierarchical linear modeling to examine trajectories of husbands' and wives' physical and emotional aggression over three assessments and the effects of years since marriage. In this community sample of 118 couples, physical aggression significantly decreased over time (43% per year). Emotional aggression did not significantly change over time, but trajectories significantly differed for husbands (3% increase) versus wives (10% decrease). Longer-duration marriages had lower physical aggression and, for wives only, lower emotional aggression. Aggression trajectories showed considerable variability: 44%-55% of physically aggressive spouses desisted from one assessment to the next; 5%-12% reported start-ups in physical aggression. Discussion addresses the role of gender and type of aggression in aggression trajectories.

Figure 1

Conditional probabilities of husband-to-wife and wife-to-husband physical aggression over the three assessments.

Figure 2

Conditional probabilities of husband-to-wife and wife-to-husband emotional aggression over the three assessments.

Figure 3

Trajectories of husbands’ and wives’ physical aggression over time with the effect of years married.

Figure 4

Trajectories of husbands’ and wives’ emotional aggression over time with the effect of years married.