Sally A. Lloyd

Romance and Violence in Dating Relationships

Recent data verifying a substantial amount of violence in dating relationships have presented a new challenge to the romantic love model. This study, which investigates abuse between high school couples, confirms the existence of violence among younger partners and describes their reactions to those abusive events. Findings suggest that violence is viewed by participating individuals as relatively nondisruptive to the relationship and sometimes is even seen as a positive occurrence. Discussion centers on how romance and violence coexist.

Family violence from a communication perspective

Family Violence from a Communication Perspective - Dudley D Cahn The Catalyst Hypothesis - Michael E Roloff Conditions under which Coercive Communication Leads to Physical Aggression Family Interaction Process - Gayla Margolin et al An Essential Tool for Exploring Abusive Relations Home Is Where the Hell Is - Linda Ade-Ridder and Allen R Jones An Introduction to Violence against Children from a Communication Perspective Parent-to-Child Verbal Aggression - Yvonne Vissing and Walter Baily Communication Patterns in Families of Adolescent Sex Offenders - Sandra M Stith and Gary H Bischof Communication and Violence in Courtship Relationships - Collen M Carey and Paul A Mongeau The Ties that Bind Women to Violent Premarital Relationships - Karen H Rosen Processes of Seduction and Entrapment Physical Aggression, Distress, and Everyday Marital Interaction - Sally A Lloyd The Role of Communication in Verbal Abuse between Spouses - Teresa Chandler Sabourin Relational Control and Physical Aggression in Satisfying Marital Relationships - L Edna Rogers, Anne Castleton and Sally A Lloyd

Fairness and reward level as predictors of relationship satisfaction.

The purpose of the present study is to examine (a) the degree to which people perceive equity and equality to coexist in their relationships, and (b) the relative ability of equity, equality, and reward level to predict relationship satisfaction. First, 337 individuals were asked to assess their current dating relationships in terms of equity, equality, reward level, and satisfaction. Second, some of the data from the Walster, Walster, and Traupmann (1978) study concerning equity and relationship satisfaction were reanalyzed. Results from the present data and the Walster et al. data indicate that the concurrence of equity and equality (or inequity and nonequality) is very high. In addition, analyses of the present data reveal that reward level is superior to equity and equality in predicting relationship satisfaction. The results point to a need for longitudinal assessment of relationships in order to understand the apparently dynamic nature of reward allocation in relationships.

Attributions Associated with Significant Turning Points in Premarital Relationship Development and Dissolution

The purpose of this study was to describe attributions about significant changes in involvement level during the course of permarital relationship development and dissolution. The Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) (Fitzgerald & Surra, 1981) was employed to reconstruct, for 100 individuals, the history of serious, heterosexual, romantic relationships that had dissolved within the last twelve months. The average length of such relationships was 15.70 months. In all, 1,988 attributions were made concerning 797 significant turning points in these relationships. The attributions broke down as follows: 43 percent dyadic, 30 percent individual, 15 percent network, 12 percent circumstantial. Chi-square tests were conducted to test whether the distribution of the four types of attributions varied as a function of (1) stage of the relationship, (2) sign and magnitude of the change in the relationship, (3) gender and (4) initiator of the breakup of the relationship. Results indicate significant differences in the distributions of attributions for all four of these breakdowns. Discussion centres around the role of attributions in relationship development versus dissolution and around gender differences in romantic relationships.

Predicting Premarital Relationship Stability: A Methodological Refinement.

Predicting premarital relationship stability has been done in a variety of empirical investigations. To date, none of these studies have attempted to controlfor the length of the relationship at initial contact. Thus, such studies may have confounded measures of involvement or commitment with the length of the relationship. The purpose of this study was to predict relationship satisfaction while statistically controlling for the length of the relationship. One hundred thirty-one participants completed assessments of involvement, reward level, comparison levelfor alternatives, satisfaction, and chance of marriage. Relationship stability was assessed three months and seven months later. Through the use of analysis of covariance, the variance due to the length of the relationship at the initial contact was removed from each of the predictor variables before the main effect (relationship status) was assessed. After controlling for length, results indicated that involvement, reward level, and chance of marriage were all significant predictors of stability both at the three-month follow-up and at the seven-month follow-up.

The Context and Dynamics of Intimate Aggression Against Women

This article presents a series of working observations on the context and dynamics of intimate aggression perpetrated against women. These reflections flow from our research, and are woven together with the work of scholars from diverse fields, from feminism to marital communication to social constructivism. Our reflections emphasize that intimate aggression is sustained not only by powerful dynamics of dominance and control, but also by the very ways in which we view, experience, and talk about relationships and aggression.

The effect of equity, equality, and reward level on the stability of students' premarital relationships

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine to what degree equity, equality, and reward level discriminate between stable and unstable premarital relationships. Questionnaires were administered to 131 American students to ascertain the level of equity, equality, and rewards in their current premarital relationships. They were tested 3 months and again 7 months after initial contact. The results demonstrate that only reward level successfully discriminated between stable and unstable relationships. In addition, equity and equality did not discriminate between groups after controlling for reward level.

Affect Regulation and the Cycle of Violence Against Women: New Directions for Understanding the Process

The process of the intergenerational transmission of violence is not well understood. A risk and resilience model of criminal violence against women was investigated using secondary data. The sample was composed of adolescent male juvenile delinquents who had been physically abused by their parents, and who were followed up at ages 25 and 31. A series of structural equation models were fit to investigate whether dysregulated affect mediated the effects of attachment and family chaos on the adult perpetration of violence against women. These models support the hypothesis that affect dysregulation may act as a mediator. Results raise new ideas about the mechanisms by which violence may be transmitted across generations.

It's All About Power: Integrating Feminist Family Studies and Family Communication

Feminist family studies bring a framework of power and intersectional analysis to unpack the issue of gender in families. Moving beyond the concept of gender as either benign or simply one of difference between men and women, a feminist perspective offers a way of conceptualizing the multiple contexts in which families are situated and where conflict and care inevitably comingle. A feminist lens has challenged family scholars to investigate and understand individuals, relationships, family structures, communities, and society in more complex and contested ways. We argue that feminist family studies offers insights for the discipline of family communication in order to contextualize the ways in which family dynamics are theorized and studied.

The Evolution of Family Studies Research

This article reviews the emerging methodological, theoretical, and topical trends in the field of family studies across the 20th century. We discuss transitions in the definitions and methods of studying families and analyze the changes in marriage and intimate partnerships, parent-child relationships, and the social ecology of the family. These general topics include issues such as marital satisfaction, violence, the social construction of gender, the interface of family and work, conceptualizations of parenting roles and socialization processes, poverty, diversity, and multiculturalism.