Intimate Partner Violence and Life History Strategy

Etiological theories of intimate partner violence (IPV) are reviewed, stemming from both standard social science and from evolutionary psychology and functioning at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and sociocultural levels. After showing how most of these theories are only minimally mutually contradictory, mostly differing on matters of detail as well as in the confusion and conflation of proximate and ultimate levels of causation, we propose a crossdisciplinary integration based on the inclusive framework provided by life history theory. A wide array of empirical evidence is provided in support of this view as the most inclusive and integrative framework currently available, as well as the most useful in helping to explain many of the previous findings within an evolutionary and cross-cultural context.