Subtyping Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

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.