Violence against female partners: Direct and interactive effects of familyhistory, communal orientation, and peer-related variables

Data from 172 male university students provide evidence for the role of com munal orientation (dispositional beliefs that relationship partners should be mutually responsive to each other's needs) in predicting violence agains t female partners. Associating with peers who verbally endorse and behavior ally model dating violence predicted participants' violent behavior. In add ition, communal orientation, a personality trait not previously investigate d in this context, was both directly and interactively related to dating vi olence. Men low in communal orientation were more likely to physically abus e their dating partners and to associate with peers who endorsed violence a gainst female partners and who were themselves abusive. Moreover, less comm unal men appeared to be more subject than their highly communal counterpart s to the influence of peers.