Partner Disagreement on the Occurrence of Intimate Partner Violence Among a National Sample of Heterosexual Young-Adult Couples

Abstract

To assess the extent and patterns of partner disagreement on the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among a young-adult couple sample, the Add Health Romantic Pairs data are used (N = 1,183 heterosexual couples). Among young-adult couples in which IPV is reported, substantial partner disagreement is the norm. Moreover, women are more likely to report their own perpetration of minor and physical IPV than men. For injurious and sexual IPV, no gendered patterns are observed. In conclusion, IPV prevalence rates vary depending on which partner’s self-reports are being considered. Prior research may have suffered from a reporting bias and to obtain accurate estimates of IPV both partners of a couple should be included in future research.

Keywords

intimate partner violence romantic couples partner disagreement

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