MCMI-III Results for Batterer Program Participants in Four Cities: Less “Pathological” Than Expected
Tóm tắt
Previous research using diagnostic inventories describe the extent and nature of psychopathology among batterers. MCMI-III scores from batterers in a multisite program evaluation (n = 840) were used to replicate this previous research. As in previous batterer research using the MCMI-I and MCMI-II, the MCMI-III results suggest a complex diversity of psychological problems that does not readily conform to previous profiles. However, less than half of the men had scores suggesting a personality disorder (BR scores ≥ 85), as opposed to 80% in a previous batterer study using the MCMI-II. Only one quarter of the men (25%) show evidence of a “severe” mental disorder. Narcissistic or antisocial tendencies were evident in 39% of our batterer sample, reflecting the sense of “entitlement” often attributed to batterers. Voluntary, as opposed to court-referred men, were more likely to have depressive and dependent tendencies and evidence of severe disorders. Our multisite sample appears to be less “pathological” than previous batterer samples and samples of psychiatric or drug outpatients.
Tài liệu tham khảo
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC.
Baumeister, R., Smart, L., and Boden, J. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Rev. 103: 5–33.
Beasley, R., and Stoltenberg, C. (1992). Personality characteristics of male spouse abusers. Prof. Psychol. Res. Pract. 23: 310–317.
Bonato, D., Cyr, J., Kalpin, A., Prendergast, P., and Sanhueza, P. (1988). The utility of the MCMI as a DSM-III Axis I diagnostic tool. J. Clin. Psychol. 44: 867–875.
Campbell, B., and Stark, M. (1991). Psychopathology and personality characteristics in different forms of substance abuse. Int. J. Addict. 25: 1467–1474.
Choca, J., and Van Denburg, E. (1997). Interpretative guide to the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, 2nd Edition, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Davis, R., Wenger, A., and Guzman, A. (1997). Validation of the MCMI-III. In Millon, T. (ed.), The Millon inventories: Clinical and personality assessment, Guilford, New York.
Dutton, D. (1994). The origin and structure of the abusive personality. J. Personal. Dis. 8: 181–191.
Dutton, D. (1995). Trauma symptoms and PTSD-like profiles in perpetrators of intimate abuse. J. Traum. Stress 8: 299–316.
Dutton, D., and Starzomski, A. (1993). Borderline personality in perpetrators of psychological and physical abuse. Viol. Vict. 8: 327–337.
Geffner, R. (1995). Of mice, humans, and family violence: The need for assessment-based intervention. Fam. Viol. Sexual Assault Bull. 11(3–4): 3.
Gondolf, E. (1996). Characteristics of court-mandated batterers in four cities. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Chicago, IL, November 20–23.
Gondolf, E. (1997). Batterer types based on the MCMI: A less than promising picture. Violence Against Women. Submitted for publication.
Gondolf, E., & Foster, R. (1991). Wife assault among V.A. alcohol rehabilitation patients. Hosp. Commun. Psychiatry 42: 74–79.
Gondolf, E., Mulvey, E., and Lidz, C. (1989). Family violence reported in a psychiatric emergency room. J. Fam. Viol. 4: 249–258.
Gondolf, E., and White, R. (1997). A case-based assessment of batterer MCMI profiles. Journal of Family Violence. Submitted for publication.
Hamberger, L. K., and Hastings, J. E. (1986). Personality correlates of men who abuse their partners: A cross-validation study. J. Fam. Viol. 1: 323–341.
Hamberger, L. K., and Hastings, J. E. (1991). Personality correlates of men who batter and nonviolent men: Some continuities and discontinuities. J. Fam. Viol. 6: 131–148.
Hart, S., Dutton, D., and Newlove, T. (1993). The prevalence of personality disorders among wife assaulters. J. Personal. Dis. 7: 329–341.
Millon, T. (1994). Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory—III, National Computer Systems, Minneapolis, MN.
Retzlaff, P. (1995). Tactical Psychotherapy of the Personality Disorders: An MCMI-III-Based Approach, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.
Saunders, D. (1993). Husbands who assault: Multiple profiles requiring multiple responses. In Hilton, Z. (ed.), Legal Responses to Wife Assault, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 9–36.
Saunders, D. (1996). Feminist-cognitive-behavioral and process-psychodynamic treatments for men who batter: Interaction of abuser traits and treatment models. Viol. Vict. 11: 393–414.
Van Denburg, E., and Choca, J. (1997). Interpretation of the MCMI-III. In Millon, T. (ed.), The Millon Inventories: Clinical and Personality Assessment, Guilford, New York, pp. 51–58.