title: Can You Be Hit by Your Partner and Be Intensely in Love?
abstract: This study examines, in a multilevel context, the influence of intensity of love at an individual level on couples' mean reports of psychological and physical aggression in a sample of 2,988 adult couples of both sexes from the Region of Madrid. The percentages of intimate partner aggression considering the highest report of aggression in the couple were around 60% of psychological aggression and 15% of physical aggression. Multilevel models confirm that individuals who were less intensely in love reported a higher level of psychological aggression. Concerning physical aggression, men who declared they were less intensely in love reported a higher level of physical aggression by their partners, but this pattern was not found in the women. Therefore, psychological aggression plays a more relevant role in the intensity of love than physical aggression.
authors.affiliation: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain jlgrana@psi.ucm.es.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Graña
authors.affiliation: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: María Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cuenca Montesino
authors.affiliation: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Redondo
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY, USA.
authors.forename: K Daniel
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: O'Leary
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: dyadic data; intensity of love; multilevel models; partner aggression