AGGRESSION BETWEEN HETEROSEXUAL DATING PARTNERS - AN EXAMINATION OF ACAUSAL MODEL OF COURTSHIP AGGRESSION

The authors used structural equation analyses of data obtained from a survey od 345 college undergraduates (232 women, 113 men) to test a pr edictive model of dating aggression based on the background-situationa l model proposed by Riggs and O'Leary (1989). Results offer initial su pport for the background-situational model. Among men and women, datin g aggression was directly related to the individual's attitudes about dating aggression, history of aggressive behavior and conflict within the relationship. However the predicted association between family of origin violence and attitudes toward aggression and general aggressive behavior was found only among women. Among men, the predictors explai ned more than 60% of the variance in the latent variable of relationsh ip aggression; among women, 32% of the variance war explained. Discuss ion focuses on the utility of the background-situational model for und erstanding etiological factors of dating aggression and indentifying t argets for interventions aimed at reducing the problem.