Index:
1. Forward and Introduction
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion &
References
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3. RESULTS
Of the total number of adults (1,978) completing the questionnaire, 1,865
had been in a heterosexual relationship at sometime (894 men and 971 women)
and 1,481 of these adults (707 men and 774 women) were in a heterosexual
relationship at the time of the survey.
Overall Incidence of Victimization
The numbers and percentages of men and women who reported sustaining or
inflicting any of the items of designated physical assault are shown in Table
1. These results show higher numbers of men reporting any victimization from
female partners than women report having sustained from male partners in
respect to all and current relationships. Fifty-one per cent of men and 27%
of women identifying any item of victimization sustained for all relationships
also identified victimization in their current relationship. Both sexes stated
they inflicted physical victimization less than they have experienced being
the victim, confirming other reports of disparity between admitted victimization
and perpetration of assaults [Riggs et al., 1989]. However , men and women
admitted inflicting assaults to about the same extent overall with any act
admitted by 10% of men and 11% of women. Of 285 men and women reporting sustained
victimization and 191 reporting inflicting victimization across all
relationships, 127 reported having been both a victim and a perpetrator,
although this does not necessarily mean that sustained and inflicted
victimization occurred in the same relationship.
TABLE 1. Overall Incidence Rates of Victimization for All Relationships
and Current Relationships*
|
All Relationships |
Current Relationships |
|
Male(N=894)(%) |
Female(N=971)(%) |
M(N=707) (%) |
Fem(N= 774)(%) |
| Sustained |
155 (18) |
130 (13) |
79 (11) |
35 (5) |
| Inflicted |
85 (10) |
106 (11) |
-- |
-- |
| * Shown are numbers and percentages of the male and
female populations who report experiencing any item of physical victimization
or aggression in either all their past or current relationships. Details
of aggression committed in their current relationships were not elicited.
A difference of 3-4% or more for these sample sizes indicates a statistical
significant difference at the 5% level. |
Item Victimization
In Table II, results for each of the five items of physical assault are presented
for what respondents stated they had sustained or inflicted in all their
heterosexual relationships and also what they had sustained in their current
relationships. Not unexpectedly, level of victimization sustained on each
item are higher across all relationships, rather than just in current
relationships, and are also higher than levels of inflicted victimization
admitted. It is evident in each of these categories that being slapped by
a partner or slapping a partner was the most frequently quoted physical assault
sustained or inflicted. In terms of individual assaultive acts it is apparent
that, although women report being pushed or grabbed more than men and men
admit they commit this assaultive act more than women, significantly more
men (P <.05) than women report being slapped by a female partner.
Also, more women report having slapped a male partner, but the difference
for inflicted victimization on this or any other item between the sexes was
not significant. On the remaining three items, which are also potentially
more serious, men and women report almost equally being the victim of such
an act. The numbers and percentages either sustaining or inflicting these
acts are low, however, being 1% or below in number of cases.
TABLE II. Physical Victimization by Sex*
|
All Relationships |
Current Relationship |
|
Sustained |
Inflicted |
Sustained |
|
Female |
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
Male |
| Victimization |
(N=971)(%) |
(N=894)(%) |
(N=971)(%) |
(N=894)(%) |
(N=774)(%) |
(N=707)(%) |
E. Pushed
Grabbed etc. |
95 (10) |
80 (9) |
37 (4) |
48 (5) |
19 (2) |
32 (5) |
| C. Slapped |
84 (9) |
121 (14) |
85 (9) |
49 (6) |
24 (3) |
62 (9) |
D. Punched
kicked |
59 (6) |
59 (7) |
27 (3) |
19 (2) |
15 (2) |
30 (4) |
H. Thrown or hit with
object |
19 (2) |
22 (2) |
15 (2) |
6 (1) |
4 (1) |
8 (1) |
J. Struck with sharp
object |
13 (1) |
13 (1) |
16 (1) |
-- |
4 (1) |
4 (1) |
* Item victimization as reported by men and women given
as both numbers and percentages of the male and female sample for all
relationships and current relationship categories.
Percentages rounded up below 0.5% of sample. A difference of 3-4%
or more for these sample sizes indicates a statistical significant difference
at the 5% level. |
Although respondents were not asked to give a measure of chronicity for each
item, it is possible to present the numbers of men and women identifying
they had sustained or inflicted one or more of the individual items of physical
assault (see Table III). In terms of all relationships, this may not mean
that there was chronicity of aggression in any particular relationship; the
individual reporting could have sustained or inflicted separate assaults
in more than one relationship. In current relationships, however, this analysis
would be symptomatic of a chronicity of aggression within that relationship.
TABLE III. Incidence of Repeated Victimization*
|
Sustained Victimization |
Inflicted victimization |
|
All relationships |
Current relationships |
All relationships |
|
Men(%) |
Women(%) |
Men(%) |
Women(%) |
Men(%) |
Women(%) |
| Any act |
155(18) |
130 (13) |
79 (11) |
35 (5) |
85 (10) |
106 (11) |
| One act |
80 (9) |
59 (6) |
48 (7) |
21 (3) |
58 (6) |
68 (7) |
| Two acts |
34 (4) |
24 (2) |
11 (2) |
3` |
21 (2) |
22 (2) |
| Three acts |
26 (3) |
30 (3) |
17 (2) |
9 (1) |
4` |
11 (1) |
| Four acts |
8 (1) |
10 (1) |
0 |
1` |
2` |
3` |
| Five acts |
7 (1) |
7 (1) |
3` |
2` |
1` |
3` |
*Repeated victimization (sustained or inflicted) compounded
as occurrence of one or more of each type of assaultive act for men and women
in all or current relationships. Percentages quoted are the percentages of
the total men or female sample.
`Percentages are rounded up: ` indicates less than 0.5% of
sample |
From Table III it can be derived that for all and current relationships,
73.5 and 74.5%, respectively, of victimized men experience only one or two
types of assault. By contrast, 63.8 and 68.5%, respectively, of victimized
women experience the same. Thus, approximately one third of assaulted women,
as opposed to one fourth of assaulted men, reported experiencing three or
more types of assault. A similar analysis for perpetration of assaults found
that 91% of men and 84% of women aggressing admitted only one or two acts.
From cross tabulations of each item of physical victimization against the
other four items, it was apparent that the greater the level of assaultive
act, the greater the likelihood that those reporting experience of it would
also identify they had experienced all lesser forms of assault. For instance,
in the case of an assault with a sharp or pointed object, 90-100% of individuals
so assaulted identified they had also been slapped or punched or kicked.
A similar pattern also existed for inflicted victimization.
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