Assessment of Wife Assault with the Conflict Tactics Scale: Using Couple Data to Quantify the Differential Reporting Effect

Abstract

The Straus Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) has been used frequently in past research to assess incidents of assault between spouses. The majority of these studies have relied on CTS scores from only one member of a couple. Szinovacz (1983) corrected this shortcoming by administering the CTS to 103 nonassaultive couples. In the current study the CTS was administered to 30 assaultive couples where the husband was undergoing treatment for wife assault. Differential reporting was found whereby husbands tend to view their marital relationship as mutually violent, while wives view it as husband-violent. Except when weapons were implicated, the husband-wife correlation on specific items of the CTS ranged from +.32 to +.57, indicating considerable disparity in recall for violence. The methodological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1986. Copyright © 1986 by the National Council on Family Relations) Domestic Violence Victim Domestic Violence Offender Domestic Violence Perceptions Spouse Abuse Offender Spouse Abuse Victim Spouse Abuse Perceptions Adult Female Adult Male Adult Offender Adult Victim Adult Violence Adult Perceptions Male Offender Male Violence Male Perceptions Husband Offender Wife Victim Female Perceptions Female Victim Victim Perceptions Offender Perceptions Violence Against Women Partner Violence Self Report Statistics Domestic Violence Incidence and Prevalence Spouse Abuse Incidence and Prevalence 06-01