An examination of psychopathology among men who have suspended the use of violence in their intimate relationships

Kate Walker, Erica Bowen, Sarah J. Brown, Emma Sleath

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    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)539-554
    JournalJournal of Family Violence
    Volume30
    Issue number5
    Early online date16 Apr 2015
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 2015

    Bibliographical note

    The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9694-x.

    Keywords

    • Intimate partner violence
    • domestic violence
    • desistance
    • personality
    • MCMI-III

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