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The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data

May 1996
Journal of Family Issues 17(3):283-316

DOI:10.1177/019251396017003001

Authors:

Murray Straus

University of New Hampshire

Sherry Hamby

University of the South

David Bruce Sugarman

Rhode Island College

This article describes a revised Conflict Tactics Scales (the CTS2) to measure psychological and physical attacks on a partner in a marital, cohabiting, or dating relationship; and also use of negotiation. The CTS2 has (a) additional items to enhance content validity and reliability; (b) revised wording to increase clarity and specificity; (c) better differentiation between minor and severe levels of each scale; (d) new scales to measure sexual coercion and physical injury; and (e) a new format to simplify administration and reduce response sets. Reliability ranges from .79 to .95. There is preliminary evidence of construct validity.

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Journal of Family Issues

DOI: 10.1177/019251396017003001

1996; 17; 283 Journal of Family Issues

DAVID B. SUGARMAN

MURRAY A. STRAUS, SHERRY L. HAMBY, SUE BONEY-McCOY and

Preliminary Psychometric Data

The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and

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What Difference does it Make if they have Children? A Mixed Methods Study of the Impact of Children on Service Providers’ Perception of Mandatory Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence

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Nov 2024
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Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) among adolescents is a prime public health concern worldwide. Research found that IPV victimization and peers’ IPV perpetration could increase the likelihood of IPV perpetration. In contrast, healthy partner attachment, forgiveness, shame management, and family harmony could serve as protective factors for IPV. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the risk and protective factors of IPV perpetration among adolescents in Hong Kong. The present study recruited 1,815 full-time secondary school students in Hong Kong aged 11 to 19 years. Healthy partner attachment, forgiveness, shame management, and family harmony were negatively correlated with IPV perpetration. IPV victimization and peers’ IPV perpetration were positively correlated with IPV perpetration. Specifically, peers’ IPV perpetration partially mediated the effect of IPV victimization on IPV perpetration. Thus, the effectiveness of intervention programs targeting IPV could be enhanced by resolving the traumatic experience of IPV victimization and promoting positive peer networks and support.

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This review of the research on marital communication conducted during the past decade notes an increasing emphasis on attempting to identify factors that mediate the relation between marital communication and marital satisfaction, rather than just describing the differences between those high and low in satisfaction. Longitudinal studies that allow the development of causal models have also been important. The decade of the eighties has seen the development of sophisticated technological and statistical procedures that have enabled researchers to use multiple methods and obtain different perspectives on the same interaction. Although we know much more about marital communication and the various processes involved than we did at the beginning of the decade, much more work still needs to be done.

Conflict Resolution Tactics in Japan, India, and the USA

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The Conflict Resolution Tactics between spouses, namely Reasoning, Verbal Aggression, and Violence, in Japan, India, and America were studied. Information concerning family structures reported by 635 Japanese, 391 Indian, and 139 American high school seniors to the family conflict resolution study questionnaires is the basis of this study. Four major findings emerged. First, high reliability and _adequate validity of the Conflict Resolution Tactics Scale (CTS) were obtainad. This fact reassured us about our usage of the scale in cross-cultural studies in this area. Secondly, the degree of conjugal violence was exceedingly high in American spouses followed by Japanese and then by Indian couples. This finding may reflect the nature of culture in each society, i.e., expressive American culture, reserved Japanese culture, and non-violent Indian culture. Thirdly, conflict resolution tactics between spouses in these three societies related closely to the principle of reciprocity. If the husband is intellectually oriented, his wife also tries to be intellectual in their conflict management. However, there is a tendency for the wife to become more aggressive if her husband tends to be abusive. Fourthly, it was revealed that the application of catharsis theory for the analysis of conjugal violence was not adequate. In other words, verbal aggression could not be conceived of as an alternative to physical violence. More constructive utilization of the conflict resolution tactics in familial conflict management might contribute to establishing a healthy and positive family relationship in our society.

Race, Class, Network Embeddedness and Family Violence: A Search for Potent Support Systems

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Leslie Margolin

Interviews were conducted with 982 mothers of young children to assess factors related to children's risk of abuse and neglect by nonparents temporarily responsible for child care. The strongest correlates of child abuse were caregiver gender and age. Although males were responsible for only 6.1% of nonparental child care, they committed 40% of the child abuse. Adolescents performed 8.5% of nonparental child care but committed 44% of the child abuse. Children were significantly less likely to be abused in a day care center or preschool than in home-based child care. The strongest correlates of neglect were the child's age, the caregiver's age, and the child care setting. Babies under the age of one year were three times more likely to be neglected, adolescent caregivers were twice as likely to be neglectful, and as was true of child abuse, home-based care was the setting with the greatest risk. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

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Murray A. Straus

The factual basis for therapy and family advice which urges 'leveling', in the sense of giving free expression to aggressive feelings, is reviewed and the results of a study of 385 couples is presented. The study tested the hypothesis that verbal aggression is a substitute for physical aggression. However, the opposite results were found: the more verbal expression of aggression, the more physical aggression. A similar analysis of 'intellectualizing' marital conflicts found that such an approach is associated with low amounts of physical violence. These results apply most strongly for working class couples. Historical and social trends which could account for the popularity of leveling approaches to marriage, despite considerable evidence suggesting the opposite, are discussed.

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May 1995

Michael Johnson

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Is Violence in Black Families Increasing? A Comparison of 1975 and 1985 National Survey Rates

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Nov 1989

This article compares the rates of physical violence in black families from the First National Family Violence Survey, conducted in 1975, with the rates from the 1985 replication. It also compares these rates to the rates for white families in the same surveys. Both studies used nationally representative samples (2,143 families in 1975 and 6,002 in 1985). There were 147 black families in the 1975 survey and 576 in the 1985 sample. The rate of severe violence toward black women declined 43%—a statistically significant change. Similarly, the ratio of severe violence toward women for blacks to whites declined from 1975 to 1985. The rates of severe violence toward black children and men were higher (48% for children and 42% for men), but the differences were not statistically significant. The black-to-white ratio for severe violence toward children and men increased between 1975 and 1985. Explanations are explored for the unchanged rate of violence toward black children, compared to a significant decline in the general population, and the decline in the rate of violence toward black women, compared to no change in the general population.

Using Couple Data as a Methodological Tool: The Case of Marital Violence

Article

Aug 1983

Maximiliane E. Szinovacz

The paper demonstrates the use of couple data as a methodological tool. Using Straus's Conflict Tactics Scale as an example, it is shown that couple data may be used for the evaluation of scale items and for the assessment of the validity of frequency estimates of violence and its relationship with other variables. The results provide clear evidence that aggregate husband-wife data cannot substitute for couple data.

The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data

Abstract

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