Risk Posed by Different Intimate Partner Violence Offender Types: Findings From a Representative Police Sample

Abstract

Spanish intimate partner violence against women offender types (i.e., high instability/high antisociality, HiHa; low instability/high antisociality, LiHa; high instability/low antisociality, HiLa; low instability/low antisociality, LiLa) were matched with their police recidivism outcomes in a longitudinal study of 9,672 cases. Our goal was to examine whether these subtypes differed in (1) their recidivism rates, (2) the severity of the new violent episodes, and (3) the evolution of their risk levels. Results showed that individuals with high antisociality features where associated with the highest recidivism rates (26.5% HiHa; 22.6% LiHa), and higher likelihood of new severe violent episodes. HiHa offenders showed the highest risk over time, although the risk posed by all subtypes decreased during follow-up. Implications for police work are discussed.