| This dissertation examined the intergenerational transmission of physical aggression from the social learning perspective. The sample consisted of couples (n = 346) participating in a longitudinal study. After one year of marriage, couples were interviewed concerning physical aggression in their marriage, aggression in their family of origin, hostility, depression, and alcohol use.;A path model examined the mechanisms whereby aggression might be passed generationally. Exogenous variables included witnessing and experiencing aggression in childhood. These background variables were theoretically and empirically linked to a series of intervening factors, including hostility, depression, and alcohol use, which have been associated both with growing up in aggressive families and with aggression within marriage. A second model examined conditions under which modeling of parental behavior was likely to occur. Multiple regression analysis allowed the examination of the interaction between partner aggression and varying levels of childhood exposure to aggression. Models were tested separately for husbands and wives to examine gender differences.;Results of the path analysis indicated for husbands aggression in the family of origin indirectly affected marital aggression by influencing hostility and depression, which in turn, affected alcohol use and marital aggression. Experiencing childhood aggression, and hostility directly affected aggression for the wives. Additionally, marital aggression was indirectly impacted as experiencing aggression increased hostility, which in turn, increased the risk of aggression.;Results of the interaction model also indicated gender differences. Regardless of the level of aggression in the husband's family of origin, there was a fairly consistent rise in reciprocal aggression with their partner. Results further suggested that husbands who grew up in highly aggressive homes were less likely to participate in reciprocal aggression than were those who grew up in less aggressive environments. In contrast, partner's aggression had no significant effect on their aggression for wives who grew up in non-aggressive environments. However, a strong reciprocal effect was found for wives who grew up in aggressive environments.;Results from this study suggested that physical aggression may be intergenerational transmitted through a complex interplay between background and foreground factors. In addition results suggested important gender differences which require further investigation. |
