An Exploratory Study of Women as Dominant Aggressors of Physical Violence in Their Intimate Relationships

Abstract

In the last 20 years, research has emerged that suggests that women may be violent in intimate relationships. This article describes a qualitative study focusing on women who were classified as dominant aggressors of violence in their intimate relationships. Ten subjects participated in a detailed clinical interview and completed five written measures to examine the factors that led to their later aggression, including sociocultural factors, history of trauma, gender role identification, and intergenerational transmission of violence. Seven major themes emerged, including a history of victimization and trauma, substance abuse, and a history of violence across relationships and situations. These results suggest that the violence committed by dominantly aggressive women may be explained by an integrated conceptual framework of domestic violence.