Rethinking power in interpersonal relationships: The development of the Power Scale and a test of a model

The current study focuses on the role of power in intimate heterosexual relationships. A sample of 166 young, urban, heterosexual college women from four colleges volunteered to participate in this questionnaire study. A new instrument to assess power in close relationships was constructed. The study examined relationships between the amount of power, attitudes toward condoms, gender roles, power strategies and condom use. A model was proposed to describe those relationships. Falbo and Peplau's (1980) two-dimensional model of power strategies provided the initial framework for examining the influence strategies used to negotiate condom use. The current study did not find support for this model. Instead, two independent categories of strategies emerged, i.e., the Interactive and Autonomous categories.;It was hypothesized that amount of power, attitudes toward condoms, and gender roles are predictive of condom use. It was also hypothesized that women's use of power strategies mediates the relationship between the amount of power and condom use and the relationship between gender roles and condom use. The present study did not find support for the mediational model. Interpersonal power was examined from the societal perspective of control of one person over another person i.e., "power-over" and the feminist perspective of control over one's own behaviors i.e., "power-to".;A new measure of power was developed and consisted of two scales: the Power-over Scale and the Power-to Scale. This measure was a reliable predictor of condom use i.e., Power-over was a negative predictor and Power-to was a positive predictor of condom use. The Power Scale in its entirety was a predictor of the Autonomous influence strategies. Women who received high scores on the Power-over Scale were most likely to use the Autonomous power strategies, while women who scored high on the Power-to Scale, tended to use all available strategies. There was a positive association between attitudes toward condoms and condom use. The relationship between gender roles and condom use was more difficult to interpret. The participants high in masculinity held the most positive attitudes toward condoms.