ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the interrelationships of the power structure of marriage, power norm consensus, the level of marital conflict, and the rate of violence among the 1975 national sample of 2,143 couples. Both the male-dominant and the female-dominant couples are at risk of violence because of conflict and inequality, but the female-dominant couples have the burden of social deviance relative to the still prevalent male-dominant norms of American society. The final set of analyses concerns the interrelation of power, conflict, and violence. Essentially, the issue to be addressed is whether, holding constant the level of conflict, the power structure of the family makes a difference in the rate of violence. The equalitarian couples had the highest consensus in respect to power, and the lowest rates of both conflict and violence. Moreover, when there is conflict, equalitarian couples display the greatest resiliency to violence.
