| Currently, a wide variety of research has examined both psychological "aggression" (e.g., the range of nonphysical behaviors engaged in by intimate partners as a means of controlling, emotionally wounding, and/or psychologically harming the other) and "abuse" (e.g., intentional psychologically aggressive acts engaged in by intimate partners that have the potential to cause serious psychological harm to the other). However, there are a number of problems with those research studies, including variability in the operational definitions of aggression and abuse, variability in what defines a "relationship," and variability in the measures used (and the items included on those measures). In an attempt to more clearly define and measure psychological abuse as compared to aggression, this study examined whether certain psychologically aggressive behaviors in intimate interpersonal relationships are occurring frequently, viewed as typical, and are not considered harmful by the individuals involved.;A nationwide sample of 616 adults who had been involved in an intimate interpersonal relationship lasting at least one year, within the past five years, was used for this study. Participants were evenly divided by gender and representative of the U.S. Census Data in terms of race/ethnicity. In addition, a variety of geographic regions, socioeconomic status, and relationship types were represented. Participants were asked to identify the frequency and resulting psychological harm of specific behaviors occurring within their identified relationship (both behaviors they initiated and/or behaviors they were the recipient of) as well as the frequency and subsequent psychological harm of these behaviors within the "typical" relationship within society. Additional items measured relationship satisfaction, desirable responding, and perceptions of the trustworthiness of others. The study was conducted online, through the use of a national internet survey company which guaranteed the representativeness of the sample.;The majority of examined items were rated as occurring with some frequency within intimate relationships. Frequency and harm ratings for these behaviors did not appear to be strongly influenced by demographic variables, such as marital status, gender, and relationship satisfaction. However, post-hoc analyses did indicate a negative correlation between participant age and endorsement of several of the psychologically aggressive items. In addition, none of the items were consistently, across people, endorsed most frequently as resulting in high harm. Therefore, the majority of these items were viewed as occurring frequently, with relatively little harm, in many relationships that were designated as satisfactory by one of the partners.;Future research will likely need to provide confirmatory analyses in support of the current study, before changes to the existing psychological abuse measures will be made or any definitive statements as to particular behaviors' harm or lack of harm can be made. However, given the importance of understanding and identifying psychologically abusive relationships in today's culture, our psychological abuse measures need to be clear in what they are examining. We must continue to refine the literature and measures of psychological aggression, and psychological abuse, to be more clearly able to distinguish between the two. Hopefully, the current study will contribute to that distinction. |
