An Examination of Psychopathology Among Men who have Suspended the Use of Violence in Their Intimate Relationships

• Published in: Journal of family violence Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 539 - 554
• Main Authors: Walker, Kate, Bowen, Erica, Brown, Sarah, Sleath, Emma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.07.2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Clinical Psychology; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Domestic violence; Family violence; Interpersonal relations; Law and Psychology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Men; Original Article; Partners; Personality; Psychological aspects; Psychology, Pathological; Psychopathology; Psychotherapy and Counseling; Quality of Life Research; Studies; United States; Domestic violence; Desistance; Personality; MCMI-III; Intimate partner violence
• ISSN: 0885-7482; 1573-2851
• DOI: 10.1007/s10896-015-9694-x

It is well established that personality pathology has been associated with the onset and continued perpetration of intimate partner violence, yet if and how this relates to the cessation of such behaviours remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether personality pathology differentiated 37 intimate partner violent men who had suspended the use of violence against their intimates (‘desisters’), 50 persisters, and 49 non-violent controls using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III subscales. Cluster A and Cluster B disorders at a diagnostic level were more often reported in men who had used violence against intimates compared to men in the control group. The rates and percentages of clinically meaningful traits and disorders were lower for the desisters than the persisters, with the desisters more like the controls than the persisters. The findings suggest that the initial stage of the desistance process may be related to personality pathology.