The social psychodynamics of conjugal conflict: A mathematical correlational investigation.

Abstract

This investigation addressed the question "What are the characteristics of the relationship between power, interference, frustration and aggression within the context of a conjugal conflict?" This investigation used a mathematical correlational descriptive design with magnitude estimation measures to evaluate the relationships between power, interference, frustration and aggression. The measures were administered to 39 women drawn from state funded social service agencies. Thirty-three (n = 13) percent of the total sample were retested to determine the stability of the measures. The reliability of the magnitude estimation measures ranged from.90 to.98 for test retest stability and.83 to.92 for the internal consistency or theta coefficients. Regression analysis of the data indicated that power had the strongest relationship to aggression (R² =.89). Neither interference nor frustration had any relationship to the concept of aggression. Empirical modeling revealed that parental aggression, through power, increased the strength of the relationship between power and aggression (R² =.96). The model also revealed that interference had the sole relationship with the concept of frustration (R² =.83).