Sex role egalitarianism and marital violence

This study explores the link between sex role egalitarianism and marital violence using a sample of men enrolled in either substance abuse treatment programs (N=71) or in anger management programs (N=44). It was found that men in both treatment programs had very similar levels of egalitarianism and violence in their relationships. Using the combined sample, it was found that having attitudes approving of marital violence and using “severe” violence accounted for a significant portion of the variance in sex role egalitarianism, whereas use of “minor” violence did not account for significant variance in egalitarianism. These results suggest that sex role egalitarianism may be a meaningful indicator for spouse abuse.