Maritally violent men's heart rate reactivity to marital interactions: a failure to replicate the Gottman et al. (1995) typology.
In an attempt to replicate the J. M. Gottman et al. (1995) batterer typology, 58 men who had engaged in moderate-to-severe marital violence in the past year were studied. The sample was split into Gottman et al.'s Type 1 men (i.e., whose heart rates decreased, from baseline, during a marital conflict task) and Type 2 men (i.e., whose heart rates increased). The groups did not differ in the manner predicted on measures of marital violence, antisocial or aggressive-sadistic personality, drug dependence, criminality, general violence, childhood exposure to interparental violence, behavior during marital interactions, or relationship stability. Contrary to expectations, wives of Type 1 men rated their husband as more jealous and angry and reported more marital distress. In the only finding consistent with Gottman et al., Type 2 men scored higher on a measure of dependent personality. Implications for future research are discussed.
Meehan
J C
JC
Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7007, USA.
Holtzworth-Munroe
A
A
Herron
K
K
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology