This article makes four major points in response to Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rolling’s (2010) review of the intimate partner
violence literature. First, the evidence is clear that there is more than one type of intimate partner violence. Second, the
feminists are right. Gender is central to the analysis of intimate partner violence, and the coercive controlling violence
that most people associate with the term “domestic violence” is perpetrated primarily by men against their female partners.
Third, different types of intimate partner violence have different causes, different developmental trajectories, and different
consequences. They require different models to understand them. Finally, we need more qualitative research focused on the
least understood types of intimate partner violence: violent resistance and situational couple violence.
Keywords Intimate partner violence - Gender symmetry - Domestic violence - Intimate terrorism - Abuse
An erratum to this article can be found at
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9767-5