This study explored the main and interactive effects of respondents'own attachment styles and their perception of the romantic partner's attachment style on expressed and received aggression in a sample of 161 male and female undergraduates who reported on a heterosexual romantic relationship. Overall, 52.8% reported expressing at least one act of aggression, and 39.1% reported sustaining such an act from their partner. Regression analyses indicated that describing (a) one's partner as more preoccupied, (b) self and partner as more preoccupied, and (c) self as secure and partner as dismissing predicted higher levels of expressed aggression. Higher levels of sustained aggression were associated with describing (a) self as more fearful and partner as more preoccupied, (b) partner as more preoccupied, and (c) partner as less fearful. These results suggest that interpersonal perception may play an important role in the level of relation-ship aggression reported to occur in romantic relationships.
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