PHYSICAL ASSAULT AMONG 21-YEAR-OLDS BY PARTNERS

The authors sought to answer the following questions: Are more women t han men physically assaulted by a partner? Do a disproportionate numbe r of physical assaults against women involve a partner? Are women subj ected to more physical assaults from partners than are men ? Are physi cal assaults on women by partners more severe in terms of physical har m than physical assaults on men by partners The sample was the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a cohort of New Zealanders. Using a semistructured face-to-face int erview, information on assault was obtained from study members when th ey turned 21 years of age. Our results showed that more women than men reported being assaulted by a partner, assaults by men represented a greater percentage of women's assault experiences, the partner assault rate was higher for women, and the assaults against women tended to r esult in more serious injury.