Personality Disorders, Types of Violence, and Stress Responses in Female Who Perpetrate Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Few studies have examined characteristics and correlates of females who display assaultive behaviours towards their intimate partners. Personality disorders, anger responses, type of violence perpetrated, and post-traumatic stress reactions in female perpetrated intimate violence are important factors in diagnosis, management, and treatment considerations. The present study examined the incidence of cluster B personality disorder traits in a non-clinical sample of self-identified females who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV). Results suggest differences in anger responses, nature and severity of violence perpetrated, and post-traumatic stress reactions across personality disorder categories. The numerous important applied implications and future research directions are discussed.

Share and Cite:

Spidel, A. , Greaves, C. , Nicholls, T. , Goldenson, J. & Dutton, D. (2013). Personality Disorders, Types of Violence, and Stress Responses in Female Who Perpetrate Intimate Partner Violence. Psychology, 4, 5-11. doi: 10.4236/psych.2013.49A1002.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Abel, E. M. (2001). Comparing the social service utilization, exposure to violence, and trauma symptomology of domestic violence female “victims” and female “batterers”. Journal of Family Violence, 16, 401-420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1012276927091
[2] American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., Revised (DSM-III-R)). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press.
[3] American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press.
[4] Arata, C. M., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (1991). Concurrent validity of a crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder scale for women with the symptom checklist-90-revised. Violence and Victims, 6, 191-199.
[5] Archer, J. (1999). Assessment of the reliability of the conflict tactics scales: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 1263-1289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626099014012003
[6] Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 651-680. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.651
[7] Archer, J. (2004). Sex differences in aggression in real-world settings: A meta-analytic review. Review of General Psychology, 8, 291-322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.8.4.291
[8] Babcock, J. C., Canady, B., Graham, K., & Schart, L. (2007). The evolution of battering interventions: From the Dark Ages into the Scientific Age. In J. Hamel, & T. L. Nicholls (Eds.), Family interventions in domestic violence: A handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treatment (pp. 215-244). London: Springer.
[9] Babcock, J. C., Green, C. E., & Robie, C. (2004). Does batterer’s treatment work? A meta-analytic review of domestic violence treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 1023-1053. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2002.07.001
[10] Bodnarchuk, M. A., Kropp, P. R., Ogloff, J. R. P., Hart, S. D., & Dutton, D. G. (1995). Predicting cessation of intimate assaultiveness after group treatment. Ottawa: Health Canada.
[11] Bushnell, J., Wells, J., & Oakley-Browne, M. (1992). Long-term effects of intrafamilial sexual abuse in childhood. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 85, 136-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1992.tb01458.x
[12] Clift, R. J. W., & Dutton, D. G. (2011). The abusive personality in women in dating relationships. Partner Abuse, 2, 166-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.2.2.166
[13] Desmarais, S. L., Reeves, K. A., Nicholls, T. L., Telford, R. P., & Fiebert, M. S. (2012a). Prevalence of physical violence in intimate relationships, Part 2: Rates of male and female perpetration Partner Abuse, 3, 170-198.
[14] Desmarais, S. L., Reeves, K. A., Nicholls, T. L., Telford, R. P., & Fiebert, M. S. (2012b). Prevalence of physical violence in intimate relationships, Part 1: Rates of male and female victimization. Partner Abuse, 3, 140-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.140
[15] Dreesen, L., Hildebrand, M., & Arntz, A. (1998). Patient-informant concordance on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders (SCID-II). Journal of Personality Disorders, 12, 149-161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1998.12.2.149
[16] Dutton, D. G. (2002). Personality dynamics of intimate abusiveness. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 8, 216-228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00131746-200207000-00005
[17] Dutton, D. G. (2002). The abusive personality: Violence and control in abusive relationships (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
[18] Dutton, D. G. (2007). Thinking outside the box: Gender and courtmandated therapy. In J. Hamel, & T. L. Nicholls (Eds.), Family interventions in domestic violence: A handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treatment. Under contract with Springer.
[19] Dutton, D. G., & Nicholls, T. L. (2005). A critical review of the gender paradigm in domestic violence research and theory: Part I—Theory and data. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10, 680-714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2005.02.001
[20] Dutton, D. G., Nicholls, T. L., & Spidel, A. (2005). Female perpetrators of intimate abuse. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 41, 1-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J076v41n04_01
[21] Ehrensaft, M., Cohen, P., & Johnson, J. (2006). Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 474-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.115.3.474
[22] Fergusson, D., Horwood, L., & Lynskey, M. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse, and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood. Journal of America Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1356-1374.
[23] First, M. B., Gibbon, M., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, B. W., & Benjamin, L. S. (1997). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis II personality disorders self-report. New York: Biometrics Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute.
[24] First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., Williams, J. B. W., Davies, M., Borus, J. et al. (1995). The structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders (SCID-II). Part II: Multi-site test-retest reliability study. Journal of Personality Disorders, 9, 92-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1995.9.2.92
[25] Foa, E. & Hearst-Ikeda, D. (1996). Emotional dissociation in response to trauma. In L. K. Michelson, & W. Ray (Eds.), Handbook of dissociation: Empirical and clinical perspectives. New York: Plenum Press.
[26] Fortunata, B., & Kohn, C. (2003). Demographic, psychosocial and personality characteristics of lesbian batterers. Violence & Victims, 18, 557-568. http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/vivi.2003.18.5.557
[27] Goldenson, J., Geffner, R., Foster, F., & Clipson, C (2007). Violence and Victims, 22, 532-545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/088667007782312186
[28] Greaves, C. (2005). Phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical event memory. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
[29] Hamel, J., & Nicholls, T. L. (2007). Family interventions in domestic violence: A handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treatment. Under contract with Springer.
[30] Hart, S., Dutton, D., & Newlove, T. (1993). The prevalence of personality disorders among wife assaulters. Journal of Personality Disorders, 7, 329-341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1993.7.4.329
[31] Hines, D. A., & Douglas, E. (2010). Intimate terroism by women towards men: Does it exist? Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 2, 36-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.5042/jacpr.2010.0335
[32] Horowitz, M. J. (1982). Stress response syndromes and their treatment. In L. Goldberger, & S. Breznitz (Eds.), Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (pp. 711-732). New York: Free Press.
[33] Horowitz, M. J., Wilner, H., & Alvarez, W. (1979). Impact of Event Scale: A measure of subjective distress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 41, 209-218.
[34] Jakupcak, M., & Tull, M. T. (2005). Effects of trauma exposure on anger, aggression, and violence in a nonclinical sample of men. Violence and Victims, 20, 589-598.
[35] Jordan, B. K., Marmar, C. R., Fairbank, J. A., Schlenger, W. E., Kulka, R. A., Hough, R. L. et al. (1992). Problems in families of male Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 60, 916-926. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.60.6.916
[36] Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
[37] Magdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Newman, D. L., Fagan, J., & Silva, P. A. (1997). Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21 year olds: Bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 68-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.65.1.68
[38] Malik, S., Sorenson, S., & Anesheusel, C. (1997). Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 291-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(97)00143-2
[39] Marshall, L. L. (1992). Development of the severity of violence against women scales. Journal of Family Violence, 7, 103-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00978700
[40] McDonald, A. S. (1997). Factor structure of the impact of events scale in a non-clinical sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 23, 419-424.
[41] McLeer, S., Dixon, J. F., Henry, D., Ruggerio, K., Escovitz, K., Niedda, T. et al. (1998). Psychopathology in non-clinically referred sexually abused children. Journal of the American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 1326-1333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199812000-00017
[42] Moretti, M. M., Penney, S., Obsuth, I., & Odgers, C. (2007). Family lessons in attachment and aggression: The impact of interparental violence on adolescent adjustment. In J. Hamel, & T. L. Nicholls (Eds.), Family interventions in domestic violence: A handbook of gender-inclusive theory and treatment. Under contract with Springer.
[43] Mullen, P. E., Martin, J. L., Anderson, J. C., Romans, S. E., & Herbison, G. P. (1993). Childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 721-732. http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.163.6.721
[44] Neal, L. A., Busuttil, W., & Rollins, J. (1994). Convergent validity of measures of post-traumatic stress disorder in a mixed military and civilian population. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 447-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490070310
[45] Nicholls, T. L., & Hamel, J. (in press). Intimate partner violence. In P. Zapf & B. Cutler (Eds.), American psychological association handbook of forensic psychology. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
[46] O’Keefe, N. K., Brockopp, K., & Chew, E. (1986). Teen dating violence. Social Work, 31, 465-468.
[47] Pollock, P. H. (1999). When the killer suffers: Post-traumatic stress reactions following homicide. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 4, 185-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/135532599167842
[48] Renzetti, C. M. (1992). Violent betrayal: Partner abuse in lesbian relationships. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
[49] Schafer, J. (1996). Measuring spousal violence with the conflict tactics scale: Notes on reliability and validity issues. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11, 572-585. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626096011004008
[50] Siegel, J. M. (1986). The multidimensional anger inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 191-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.1.191
[51] Simmons, C., Lehmann, P., Cobb, N., & C., Fowler (2005). Personality profiles of women and men arrested for domestic violence: An analysis of similarities and differences. In F. Buttell, & M. Carney (Eds.), Women who perpetrate relationship violence (pp. 63-83). New York: Haworth Press.
[52] Spidel, A., Nicholls, T., Kendrick, K., Klein, C., & Kropp, R. P. (2004). Characteristics of female intimate partner assaulters. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services, Miami, FL.
[53] Steinmetz, S. K. (1977-1978). The battered husband syndrome. Victimology, 2, 499-509.
[54] Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The conflict tactics scale (CTS). Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 75-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/351733
[55] Straus, M. A. (1999). The controversy over domestic violence by women: A methodological, theoretical, and sociological of science analysis. In X. B. Arriaga, & S. Oskamp (Eds.), Violence in intimate relationships (pp. 17-44). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452204659.n2
[56] Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1990). Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
[57] Stuart, G. L., Moore, T. M., Gordon, K. C., Ramsey, S. E., & Kahler, C. W. (2006). Psychopathology in women arrested for domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 376-389. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260505282888
[58] Taft, C. T., Pless, A. P., Stalans, L. J., Koenen, K. C., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (2005). Risk factors for partner violence among a national sample of combat veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 151-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.73.1.151
[59] Thompson, E. H. (1991). The maleness of violence in dating relationships: An appraisal of stereotypes. Sex Roles, 24, 261-278. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00288301
[60] Waltz, J., Babcock, J. C., Jacobson, N. S., & Gottman, J. M. (2000). Testing a typology of batterers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 658-669. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.4.658
[61] Watson, D. C., & Sinha, B. K. (1998). Comorbidity of DSM-IV personality disorders in a nonclinical sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 773-780. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199810)54:6<773::AID-JCLP3>3.0.CO;2-I
[62] White, J. W., Merrill, L. L., & Koss, M. (2001). Predictors of premilitary courtship violence in a Navy recruit sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 910-927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626001016009004

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.