Journal of Marriage and Family 65 (February 2003): 233–247 233 DEBRA UMBERSON University of Texas KRISTIN L. ANDERSON Western Washington University* KRISTI WILLIAMS The Ohio State University** MEICHU D. CHEN University of Texas***  Relationship Dynamics, Emotion State, and Domestic Violence: A Stress and Masculinities Perspective We draw on the burgeoning masculinities litera- ture to develop a framework for understanding how emotional reactions to stress may be asso- ciated with domestic violence. We conducted a daily diary study of 22 men with a history of do- mestic violence and a matched comparison group of 23 men with no known history of domestic vi- olence. Each day, respondents completed a daily diary questionnaire on relationship dynamics, stress, and emotion state. This research design al- lowed us to examine relationship dynamics and emotion state as they unfolded over a 14-day pe- riod. We find a difference between the two groups Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, University of Texas, 1 University Station, A1700, Austin, TX 78712-1500 (umberson@mail.la.utexas.edu). *Department of Sociology, Amtzen Hall 529, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9081. **Department of Sociology, 300 Bricker Hall, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. ***Department of Sociology and Population Research Cen- ter, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712. Key Words: diary study, domestic violence, emotions, mas- culinities, stress. in the links between stress, relationship dynamics, and emotion state: Nonviolent men are more emo- tionally reactive to stress and relationship dynam- ics than are violent men. Among men with a his- tory of domestic violence, it is as if the link between personal circumstances and emotion state has been disconnected. These findings sup- port the idea that the demonstration of masculinity through repression of emotion and violent behav- ior may be linked. In the present study, we merge research on stress and coping with the literature on masculinities to consider how culturally defined images of mas- culinity might shape men’s response to stress with violence. Existing research suggests how mascu- linity, emotional reactions to stress, and violence might be connected. First, the masculinities liter- ature reveals a cultural image of masculinity in which aggression is an acceptable way for men to express emotion in our society—whether in the form of sport, roughhousing, or controlling the be- havior of others (Connell, 1995; Messner, 1992; Segal, 1990). This literature, along with research on emotions, reveals the related phenomenon of