Aggressive Behavior and its Effect on Romantic Relationships
Simona Morris
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Aggression is a behavior that is possible for anyone to display. It is a type of social behavior that varies across cultures and is also shown to have some gender differences. The goal of acting out aggressively is to cause physical or psychological pain to another person. Domestic violence, which is acting aggressively towards a spouse or intimate partner, has become an issues for many couples today. For one to understand the connection between aggressive behavior and romantic relationships, related key terms must first be clearly defined.
Hostile aggression is triggered by anger and is typically shown by acting out violently. For this type of aggression, inflicting pain and causing injury to others is the key behind the behavior. It is typically much more common for males to display this type of aggression. When one acts with the intent to harm someone as a reaction of being harmed themselves, this type of aggression is considered reactive aggression.
Relational aggression is designed to interfere with one’s social status. Its purpose is to cause harm through relationships, social status, and social interactions. This type of aggression tends to be more common with females rather than males.
In Females’ Reasons for Their Physical Aggression in Dating Relationships, the use of physical aggression by women in a relationship was examined. Participants were asked to answer open-ended, as well as close-ended questions regarding their relationship. Results showed that 32% of participants admitted to engaging in physical abuse with their partners (Hettrich 2007). These participants were young college women who also reportedly felt pressured to engage in certain sexual activities with their partner. Those who were in aggressive relationships were not satisfied with their relationships. Physical aggression was negatively correlated with positive feelings for their partner (Hettrich 2007). Young adults were also examined for the use of relational aggression in their romantic relationships. In Profiles and Correlates of Relational Aggression in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships, results showed that females reported higher levels of perpetration while males tend to show higher levels of victimization (Goldstein 2008). This study supports the idea that some women tend to practice relational aggression while in a relationship. The reason for this could possibly be for reasons such as sexual pressure from their partner.
Women’s Perspective on Men’s Control and Aggression in Intimate Relationships is a study of 2,544 women. This study suggests that verbal abuse from men is not necessarily due to the need to display aggressive behavior towards their partner but rather to gain personal control. This finding is important to consider due to the fact that it may give some insight on why women tend to accept this type of behavior from their partner.
In College Women’s Aggression in Relationships: The Role of Childhood and Adolescent Victimization, research suggest that it is important to consider previous abuse when predicting if one will become abusive or involved in an abusive romantic relationship. Some things to consider are if one has previous victimization experiences, mutual partner aggression and a history of aggressive behavior (Edwards 2009). When considering one’s past experiences, childhood experiences should be examined. In Experiences of Psychological and Physical Aggression in Adolescent Romantic Relationships, the connection between psychological distress of adolescents and their psychological and physical aggressive relationships were examined. Results showed that