Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that there may be a relationship between marital satisfaction and the sex role identities of the couple. Specifically, couples in which the husband is either feminine or androgynous appear to be happier. Conversely, couples in which the husband is classified as undifferentiated are apparently more dissatisfied. There is some evidence, as well as theoretical speculation, that abusive husbands may be low in femininity, less likely to be classified as androgynous, and more likely to be classified as undifferentiated. This investigation compared the sex role identification of abusive husbands to that of comparison samples of both discordant, and satisfied, nonviolent husbands. The results indicated that batterers were lower in masculinity, less likely to be classified as androgynous, and more likely to be classified as undifferentiated than husbands in either of the comparison groups. Lack of differentiation between the two nonviolent groups suggests the possibility that findings of previous investigations supportive of a relationship between sex role identity and discord, in general, might be artifactual. The theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Antill, J. K. (1983). Sex-role complimentarity versus similarity in married couples.J. Personality Social Psychol. 45: 145–155.
Baucom, D. H. (1976). Independent masculinity and femininity scales on the California Psychological Inventory.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 44: 876.
Baucom, D. H., and Aiken, P. A. (1984). Sex role identity, marital satisfaction and response to behavioral marital therapy.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 52: 438–444.
Bern, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 42: 155–162.
Burger, A. L., and Jacobson, N. S. (1979). The relationship between sex role characteristics, couple satisfaction and couple problem-solving skills.Am J. Family Ther. 7: 52–60.
Carter, D. B., Dusek, J. B., Danko, M. B., and Levy, G. D. (1984). Childrearing antecedents of sex role orientation in young adults. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
Goldstein, D., and Rosenbaum, A. (1985). An evaluation of the self-esteem of maritally violent men.Fam. Relations 34: 425–428.
Hathaway, S. R., and McKinley, J. C. (1967).The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Manual, Psychological Corporation, New York.
LaViolette, A. D., Barnett, O. W., and Miller, C. L. (1984). A classification of wife abusers on the Bern Sex-Role Inventory. Paper presented at the Second Annual Conference on Research on Domestic Violence, Durham, New Hampshire.
Locke, H. J., and Wallace, K. M. (1959). Short marital adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity.Marriage Family Living 21: 251–255.
Parsons, T. (1947, 1966).Essays in Sociological Theory, The Free Press, New York.
Rosenbaum, A., and O'Leary, K. D. (1981). Marital violence: Characteristics of abusive couples.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 49: 63–71.
Roy, M. (Ed.) (1977).Battered Women, Van Nostrand, New York.
Spence, J. T., and Helmreich, R. L. (1978).Masculinity and Femininity, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.
Spence, J. T., Helmreich, R. L., and Stapp, J. (1974). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A measure of sex-role stereotypes and masculinity-femininity.JSAS Catalog Selected Documents Psychol. 4: 127.
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics Scales.J. Marriage Family 41: 75–88.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., and Steinmetz, S. (1980).Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family. Anchor, Garden City, New York.
Telch, C. F., and Lindquist, C. U. (1984). Violent versus nonviolent couples: A comparison of patterns.Psychotherapy 21: 242–248.
Toby, J. (1966). Violence and the masculine ideal: Some qualitative data.Ann. Am. Acad. Polit. Social Sci. 364: 19–28.
Yllo, K., and Straus, M. A. (1981). Patriarchy and violence against wives: The impact of structural and normative factors. Family Research Laboratory and Department of Sociology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by NIH Biomedical Research Support Grant 507 RR07068-16 and by Grant RO 1 MH35340-01A1. The author wishes to express his appreciation to D. Bruce Carter for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rosenbaum, A. Of men, macho, and marital violence. J Fam Viol 1, 121–129 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00977248
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00977248