Deterrence of men from using aggression toward female partners

The study explored how men were deterred from using aggression toward a female partner by examining men’s evaluation of their female partner’s readiness to respond to their aggression (by involving formal and/or informal social agents and by threatening to leave or leaving the relationship). The data were obtained from 217 men. Findings show that the higher the men evaluate the women’s readiness to respond to their aggression, the more severe their aggression. Findings also indicate that women’s readiness to threaten to leave, actually to leave, or to involve informal social agents is higher than their readiness to involve formal social agents. Findings that show that when the men decide that the women will respond to their aggression, this evaluation directly affects the other variables, as well as the association between these variables. The more the men evaluate that the women will respond to their aggression, the more likely they are to restrain their violent tendencies.