Associations Between Dysfunctional Personality Traits and Intimate Partner Violence in Perpetrators and Victims

Abstract

In the current study, the role of borderline and antisocial personality traits and psychological and physical forms of intimate partner violence were examined. Using self- and partner-reports, 30 perpetrators (28 males) and 30 victims (29 females) of partner violence, including 23 (former) couples, were interviewed. Results showed that perpetrators (i.e., males) were higher on antisocial personality traits than victims (i.e., females), but the two groups did not differ on borderline traits and self-reported violence. Moreover, borderline traits were associated with partner violence in general, whereas antisocial personality traits were associated with physical, but not psychological, partner violence. Analyses on (former) couples suggest that there is little congruence between perpetrators’ and victims’ reports of partner violence. In conclusion, the findings of the current study not only emphasized the complex nature of intimate partner violence but also showed that dysfunctional personality traits and gender play a significant role in both the display and reporting of partner violence.