| Summary: | Violence within marital dyads is a problem with deep
historic roots in American culture. Although the family
is idealized as a safe and loving haven from a cruel
world, this ideal is often not achieved by many couples.
This study develops an integrated theoretical perspective
that combines feminist theory and social exchange theory
to examine levels of domestic conflict.
A regression model was constructed to test the
hypothesis that identification with fundamentalist
Protestant religious and moral beliefs and the economic
dependence of women were factors contributing to high
levels of violent conflict within marital dyads.
The study analyzed data gathered from a probability
sample of 3421 married couples. The dependent variable,
marital conflict, was operationalized using a modified
version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979).
This variable was regressed on the independent variables:
Protestant fundamentalist religiosity, religious
affiliation, Protestant moral/family values, wives'
economic dependency and the economic, social and
demographic variables cited in the literature for their
relationship to dyadic violence.
The study found that identification with a
fundamentalist Protestant religious discourse was not
significantly related to increased levels of dyadic
violence. Agreement with the basic moral/family values
of the fundamentalist Protestant discourse were
significantly related to lower levels of conflict.
Women's economic dependency was also significantly
related to lower levels of conflict. These data support
the conclusion that women who identify with conservative
values and acquiesce to the male power structure by
choosing a more traditional life-course of economic
dependency are less likely to be involved in high
conflict or violent marriages. === Graduation date: 1992
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