Subtyping male perpetrators of intimate partner violence.
Domestic violence is a serious problem with far-reaching consequences. This study applies a new methodology to derive subtypes of male perpetrators of intimate partner violence. As part of a larger National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study, a national sample of randomly selected psychologists and psychiatrists describe 188 adult male patients (59 with a history of partner violence, 97 with a history of arrests but not partner violence, and 57 with neither partner violence nor arrests), using the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-II (SWAP-II), a Q-sort procedure for assessing personality pathology. Using Q-factor analysis, the authors identify three personality constellations among the partner-violent men, two of which strongly resembled subtypes identified using different methods in prior research: psychopathic, hostile/controlling, and borderline/dependent. The authors compare these subtypes with each other and with nonarrested/ nonviolent men and men with arrests but no partner violence on Axis I and II diagnoses, adaptive functioning, etiological variables, and response to treatment, providing initial validity data.
Fowler
Katherine A
KA
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. fowlerka@mail.nih.gov
Westen
Drew
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000145:classification*; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000145:classification*; D014481:United States