Marriage is a cornerstone of many cultures and societies, but attitudes about marriage vary from person to person. The Attitudes About Marriage scale (AAM) is a psychometric scale used to measure an individual’s attitudes towards marriage. This scale has been used in research to explore the differences in attitudes between men and women, different age groups, and different ethnicities. The AAM scale consists of 18 items that measure an individual’s attitudes about marriage. The items are divided into three subscales: Intimacy, Commitment, and Openness. The Intimacy subscale measures an individual’s perception of marriage as an intimate relationship. The Commitment subscale measures an individual’s commitment to marriage and the Openness subscale measures an individual’s willingness to consider alternatives to traditional marriage. The AAM scale has been used in a variety of studies to explore differences in attitudes about marriage. For example, research has shown that men tend to have more positive attitudes about marriage than women. Additionally, older individuals tend to have more positive attitudes about marriage than younger individuals. Finally, research has also found that individuals from different ethnic backgrounds may have different attitudes about marriage. Overall, the AAM scale is a useful tool for researchers to measure an individual’s attitudes about marriage. It can be used to explore differences in attitudes between men and women, different age groups, and different ethnicities. The AAM scale is an important tool for researchers to better understand how attitudes about marriage vary across different populations.
A husband slaps or hits his wife if . . .
Rating (0) Unjustifiable‚ (1–4) Somewhat Justifiablen‚ (5–6) Justifiable
1. She comes at him with a knife
2. She physically abuses their child
3. In an argument‚ she hits him first
4. He catches her in bed with another man
5. He learns that she is having an affair
6. She terrorizes and abuses his pet
7. She uncontrollably smashes his personal belongings
8. She screams hysterically
9. At a party she flirts with another man in front of him and his friends
10.She threatens verbally to get her gun
11.She is drunk‚ belligerent‚ and acting crazy
12.She calls him ‘‘stupid’’ over and over again
13.She calls his mother nasty names all the time
14.He is drunk and out of control
15.She accuses him of being an incompetent and insensitive human being
16.She makes him look like a fool in front of his family and friends
17.He overhears her talking on the phone with her ex-boyfriend
18.She refuses to let him enroll in college courses
19.He is upset about losing his job
20.She insults his best friend
21.She refuses to have sex with him
22.She refuses to let him go out for an evening with his friends
23.He is angry because he got a speeding ticket
24.She tells him she should have divorced him a long time ago
25.She threatens to move out in the middle of an argument
This study examines whether the often-cited association between experiencing physical abuse in one’s family of origin and behaving aggressively toward one’s intimate female partner is moderated by attitudes condoning husband to wife aggression. Forty-seven men rated the justifiability of male-to-female aggression for 25 specific conditions. Attitudes condoning aggression were not correlated with either history of abuse or current abuse but the interaction between attitudes and history of exposure accounted for significant variance in physical and emotional aggression inflicted on adult female partners. For men who condone physical aggression‚ there was a strong correlation between abuse in the family of origin and actual physical and emotional aggression toward female partners‚ whereas for men who do not condone aggression‚ there were no significant correlations. These data illustrate how the significance of one risk factor‚ such as history of abuse‚ changes as a function of another variable—namely‚ attitudes condoning male-to-female aggression
· Attitudes toward violence
· Husband-to-wife aggression
This instrument can be found on page 165 of Men’s Attitudes Condoning Marital Aggression: A Moderator between Family of Origin Abuse and Aggression against Female Partners. Cognitive Therapy and Research‚ Vol. 24‚ No. 2‚ 2000‚ pp. 159-174. Available online at: http://91.190.232.206:8080/predmet/inostr/nasilie/Marital.pdf
Margolin‚ G.‚ & Foo‚ L. (1992). Attitudes About Marriage Index. Unpublished instrument. University of Southern California.
O’Hearn. Holly Garcia‚ and Margolin. Gayla (2000). Men’s Attitudes Condoning Marital Aggression: A Moderator between Family of Origin Abuse and Aggression against Female Partners. Cognitive Therapy and Research‚ Vol. 24‚ No. 2‚ pp. 159-174