Rise of female 'relationship terrorists': Study finds women are more controlling and aggressive towards their partners than men
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Women may be known as the gentler sex, but the stereotype is a myth, according to a new study.
Psychologists claim that women are more likely than men to be controlling and aggressive relationship 'terrorists'.
The scientists found that far from the popular notion of women tending to be victims of 'intimate partner violence' (IPV) - physical, sexual, or psychological harm - they were more physically aggressive to their partners than men.
Psychologists claim that women are more likely than men to be controlling and aggressive relationship 'terrorists'. Contrary to previous studies, experts found that women are more likely than men to use physical violence against their partner (illustrated with a stock picture)
In sharp contrast to previous findings, psychologists from the University of Cumbria found that a larger proportion of women could be classed 'intimate terrorists' who routinely abused their partners.
Researchers questioned 1,104 young men and women about physical aggression and controlling behaviour involving partners and friends.
The results showed that within partner relationships, women were just as controlling as men and more likely to be physically aggressive.
'This was an interesting finding. Previous studies have sought to explain male violence towards women as rising from patriarchal values, which motivate men to seek to control women's behaviour, using violence if necessary,' said Dr Elizabeth Bates, from the university.
'This study found that women demonstrated a desire to control their partners and were more likely to use physical aggression than men.
Previous studies have sought to explain male violence towards women (illustrated with a stock image) as rising from patriarchal values, which motivate men to control women's behaviour, using violence if necessary
'This suggests IPV may not be motivated by patriarchal values and needs to be studied within the context of other forms of aggression, which has potential implications for interventions.'
In the 1990s, Michael P Johnson, a U.S. sociologist from the University of Michigan, defined an extreme form of controlling relationship behaviour involving threats, intimidation and violence that came to be known as 'intimate terrorism'.
Professor Johnson found that intimate terrorists were almost always men - a view that has generally been held by other experts.
But the new research presented at the British Psychological Society's Division of Forensic Psychology annual meeting in Glasgow found the opposite was true.
According to the questionnaire results, women were more likely to be perpetrators of this so-called terrorism than men.
The analysis showed that while women tended to be more physically aggressive towards their partners, men were more likely to be physically aggressive to same sex 'others', including friends.
Controlling behaviour was significantly linked to physical aggression in both men and women.
AND MEN WITH WIDER SKULLS ARE SEEN AS MORE DOMINANT
Men with narrower skulls are less likely to be regarded as more dominant than those with wider ones, a study has found.
Psychologists from Stirling University asked volunteers to look at photographs of students with neutral expressions and rate the dominance of their personality.
The research revealed a strong link between the breadth of a man's face compared to its height - known as fWHR - and how dominant he was considered by himself and others. The same could not be said of women.
The study's lead author Viktoria Mileva said that others' perception of men with broad faces could lead them to believe they are dominant.
She said: 'It is also possible that men with a higher width to height ratio act inherently more dominant, perhaps as a result of increased testosterone.'
'One potential mechanism which may explain why fWHR affects male self-perceptions of dominance is how others behave towards them.
'If certain behavioural qualities which signal dominance, such as achievement drive, aggression and cheating and trustworthiness are visible in people's faces through their fWHR, as our study one suggests, then actions towards these individuals may differ.
'This could in turn lead to altered behaviour from the faces' owners in response to how they are treated by others.
'However, it is also possible that men with a higher fWHR act and feel inherently more dominant, perhaps as a result of increased testosterone'.
Previous studies have found that men with wider faces are more likely to be seen as aggressive, but also more attractive for short-term relationships.
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