Women are more likely than men to be controlling and aggressive relationship "terrorists", say psychologists.

The idea that they are the gentler sex is a myth - at least as far as partners are concerned, according to a study.

Scientists found that far from the popular notion of women tending to be victims of "intimate partner violence" (IPV), they were more physically aggressive to their other halves than men.

Astonishingly, a larger proportion of women could be classed "intimate terrorists" who routinely abused their partners, in sharp contrast to previous findings.

Researchers questioned 1,104 young men and women about physical aggression and controlling behaviour involving partners and friends.

The results showed that within partner relationships, women were just as controlling as men and more likely to be physically aggressive.

Study leader Dr Elizabeth Bates, from the University of Cumbria, said: "This was an interesting finding. Previous studies have sought to explain male violence towards women as rising from patriarchal values, which motivate men to seek to control women's behaviour, using violence if necessary.

"This study found that women demonstrated a desire to control their partners and were more likely to use physical aggression than men. This suggests that IPV may not be motivated by patriarchal values and needs to be studied within the context of other forms of aggression, which has potential implications for interventions."

In the 1990s a US sociologist from the University of Michigan, Professor Michael P Johnson, defined an extreme form of controlling relationship behaviour involving threats, intimidation and violence that came to be known as "intimate terrorism".

Prof Johnson found that intimate terrorists were almost always men, a view that has generally been held by other experts.

But the new research presented at the British Psychological Society's Division of Forensic Psychology annual meeting in Glasgow found the opposite was true.

According to the questionnaire results, women were more likely to be perpetrators of "intimate terrorism" than men.

The analysis showed that while women tended to be more physically aggressive towards their partners, men were more likely to be physically aggressive to same sex "others" including friends.

Controlling behaviour was significantly linked to physical aggression in men and women.