Continuity of Marital Behavior in Remarriage: The Case of Spouse Abuse

Abstract

This paper explores the variation between 1st marriages and remarriages in the incidence of spouse abuse an important aspect of marital relationships. 2 explanations are proposed for the higher rates of spouse abuse in remarried families. The 1st relies on characteristics individual spouses acquire prior to their remarriage; the 2nd focuses on remarried family characteristics in particular the complexity of family structure. Using data from the National Survey of Family Violence no support is found for the hypothesis that the experiences of individuals prior to remarriage account for higher rates of spouse abuse in remarried families regardless of complexity than intact never-divorced families. The Family Violence Survey utilized data obtained from interviews conducted with a national area probability sample of 2143 adults in January and February of 1976. To be eligible respondents had to be married or cohabiting with a member of the opposite sex. Interviews were conducted with wives in a randomly selected 1/2 of the families and with husbands in the other 1/2. Log-linear analysis was used to assess whether family structure is related to spouse abuse. The results support the hypothesis that divorced adults carry behavioral patterns from previous marriages into remarriage. The apparent incorporation of violence into a repertoire of marital behavior is consistent with remarried couples expectations that spouses replicate the mistakes of their 1st marriages in remarriage. The extent to which individuals consciously decide to repeat or renegotiate marital behavior upon remarriage is unknown. Data from 1 study indicate that adults entering remarriage carefully distinguish between their 1st and 2nd marriages on a variety of dimensions. In particular the data show that adults act consciously to avoid repeating behavior they found to be harmful in their 1st marriages. A key dimension upon which remarried couples distinguish their behavior in 1st and 2nd marriages is patterns of conflict of resolution. It is possible that the observed relationship between family structure and spouse abuse is a function of the relationship between family structure and childhood family violence. The data do not however support this hypothesis. The effect of family structure on spouse abuse persists when exposure to childhood family violence is controlled. Characteristics of predivorce marriages especially high levels of strain and conflict are likely sources of violent marital behavior that is then carried into remarriage. The findings in this paper expand the issues policy makers raise about the transmission of family violence. The chain of violence from marriage to remarriage is as important a problem as the chain of violence from parents to children in the US.