Women initiate minor aggression

From the Pittsburgh newspaper:

Women may be the primary victims of serious domestic violence, according to most experts, but they are just as likely -- if not slightly more inclined -- as men to engage in "minor aggression" such as hitting and slapping in relationships, according to a new study.

In lengthy interviews with more than two dozen women, those surveyed reported initiating aggression in more than half of the conflicts with their partners. And one of the main reasons, says University of Missouri-Columbia researcher Loreen Olson, was frustration about their inability to gain their partner's attention.

"They told us they would try and try and try to get their partner to listen to them, and that the men had withdrawn and were avoiding dealing with the issue or confronting the conflict," said Olson, who co-authored the study with Sally Lloyd, professor of family studies at Miami University in Ohio. The study will be published in the October edition of the academic journal Sex Roles.

"So they resorted to verbal aggression or even physical action, like slapping their partners on the upper torso, or throwing things at them, in an effort to get them to engage in discussion." ...

"What's typical is that I want to talk about something and he doesn't want to talk about something, and then I'm like, I just [verbally] push and push and push and then he starts where he backs off and ... he wants to leave. And I'm like, 'No, you cannot leave.' "

There are many studies finding that women initiate domestic violence as much as men.