Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious health concern for women in the United States (e.g., Schafer, Caetano, & Clark, 1998). Currently, measurement issues in this field are problematic. To begin to understand this form of violence, information must be obtained from both partners in the couple. Numerous studies have indicated that partners do not agree about the occurrence of IPV in their relationship (e.g., Jouriles & O'Leary, 1985; Moffit et al., 1997; Szinovacz & Egley, 1995). This lack of concordance complicates the study of violent behaviour. The principal goal of this study is to generate hypotheses regarding partner disagreement about the occurrence of violence. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 48 men and women with and without histories of IPV, in order to explore this lack of concordance. Participant responses were analyzed and themes were identified about why men and women disagree on the occurrence of IPV. The main results indicate that participants believe men and women remember differently; women remember emotions while men remember facts, men and women choose what they want to remember, and both tend to remember that they are right in the conflict. These findings are unique to this field and have never before been suggested by other IPV researchers. Therefore, this study provides new and innovative contributions to understanding the disagreement that occurs between men and women. The broad-reaching implications of this study are numerous, including allowing for more accurate measurement in future work in the area of intimate partner violence.
Learning Objectives: 1.Participants will gain a new perspective on disagreement about intimate partner violence based on qualitative data. 2.Participants will be able to list and describe the major reasons why laypeople believe their is disagreement about violence. 3.Participants will be able to discuss the importance of gathering qualitative information in research on intimate partner violence
Keywords: Violence,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.