Power and Control in Relationship Aggression

Source: (2007) In John Hamel and Tonia L. Nicholls, Ed., Family Interventions in Domestic Violence. New York, USA: Springer Publishing Company. Pp. 87-107.

“From the literature reviewed here, it is clear that controlling behavior and physical aggression co-occur and that the use of controlling behavior is not a male or a heterosexual preserve. Longitudinal data suggests that controlling behavior may be a precursor to physical aggression (Murphy & O’Leary, 1989) and that, unlike physical aggression, it may not diminish over time. The negtive sonsequences for victims of psychoological victimization are severe and independent of physical victimization. Although feminist, family conflict, evolutionary, and trauma theories are in agreement that controlling behavior and physical aggression are motivated by similar needs, the actual needs are not agreed on. There are many scales that measure aspects of controlling behavior, although no single scale has yet reached dominance in the literature, and, as such, no one scale is validated and accepted for research and clinical use.” (excerpt)