Despite similarities noted, it is stated that marital and dating aggression each have unique features which highlight the importance of investigating each form of violence separately. Additionally, suggestions for future research on theoretical conceptualizations of dating violence and the co-examination of dating and marital violence are discussed. It is noted that recent studies have focused on the widespread problem of violence among adolescent and college aged dating couples, with much of this research focusing on identifying risk factors and correlates of dating violence, along with implementing intervention and prevention programs for the amelioration of this aberrant behavior. The article also concludes that limited discussion exists within the literature on theoretical frameworks to explain dating violence or the relationship between dating and marital violence. This paper critically reviews existing theories that have been postulated for intimate partner aggression in general and specifically for dating violence. The similarities and differences between dating violence and marital violence are also examined, with a discussion on how a theoretical framework developed to examine marital aggression could be effectively applied to violent dating relationships. Topics in this work include: theoretical, models of dating violence; social learning theory; feminist theory; attachment theory; coercion hypothesis; behavioral theories; and the similarities of dating and marital violence. References