Daily reports of intimate partner verbal aggression by self and partner: Short-term consequences and implications for measurement

Objective: Agreement within couples regarding the occurrence of aggression is surprisingly low. Survey research often collapses across partners' reports to create a pooled estimate of aggression in the relationship. This method ignores possible differences in partners' perceptions of the event, potentially weakening researchers' ability to detect consequences of aggression. The current study examines both partners' reports of verbal aggression to determine whether aggression reported by only 1 partner influences both partners' shortterm outcomes. Method: We used a 56-day daily diary to examine the effect of verbal aggression on short-term negative outcomes. We examined whether aggression reported by either partner is sufficient to predict consequences for both partners, or whether an individual must report aggression to experience consequences. Results: Victims' reports of receiving verbal aggression were a better predictor of next day victim consequences than perpetrators' reports. Perpetrators' reports of perpetrating verbal aggression were a better predictor of next-day perpetrator consequences than victims' reports. Days when partners agreed that aggression had occurred generally predicted the worst outcomes. Conclusions: People's own reports of verbal aggression are the best predictor of short-term consequences. Pooling partner reports of aggression may make it more difficult to understand the consequences of intimate partner aggression.