Predicting marital violence from the Marriage and Relationship Questionnaire: using LISREL to solve an incomplete data problem

Violence by husbands and wives directed towards the spouse, as measured by the Straus Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), is predicted from 24 Marriage and Relationship Questionnaire (MARQ) scales, 12 from each partner. The analyses use a sample of 80 complete cases. The information from this group of cases is supplemented by 1211 incomplete cases who completed the MARQ but not the CTS. LISREL 8 combines the information from the two sources, using pseudo values for the missing information in the larger sample of incomplete cases. Violence by the husbands is predicted by the husbandsʹ Roles, Love, Sexual Jealousy and Conciliation scales and by the wivesʹ Family Ties, Attractiveness and Problems: Relationship scales. Violence by the wives is predicted by the husbandsʹ Sexual Jealousy and Conciliation scales and by the wivesʹ Partnership, Love and Attractiveness scales. These findings are discussed and the method of combining partial data from a large sample with a smaller number of complete cases is commended.