Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: a meta-analytic review.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Meta-analysis (by design analogy, as the underlying primary research consists of observational survey studies)
PubMed 10989615 · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.651
What was done
The authors conducted meta-analyses of studies evaluating sex differences in physical aggression between heterosexual partners and the resulting physical consequences (injuries). They also evaluated moderators, including measurement methods, sample type, age, and the proportion of physically aggressive males.
What was found
Women were slightly more likely to perpetrate one or more acts of physical aggression and to commit such acts more frequently (d = -0.05). Men were more likely to inflict physical injury (d = 0.15), with women comprising 62% of all injured partners. Younger dating samples and cohorts with lower proportions of aggressive males predicted larger effect sizes in the female-perpetration direction.
Why it matters
This review shows that while minor physical aggression acts in heterosexual partnerships are reported at roughly equal or slightly higher rates by women, physical injury consequences are disproportionately sustained by women.
Limits
The total number of studies and participants is not stated in the abstract. The primary literature base was heavily skewed toward young dating samples within the United States, limiting generalizability to older, non-dating, or international populations.
Cited by
- supports While average differences in aggressiveness between sexes are small, individuals at the extreme tails of aggression and sexual predation are predominantly male.