Intimate partner violence offenders: Generating a data-based typology of batterers and implications for treatment

Abstract

Different studies have proposed that batterers can be classified into distinct groups according topsychopathology, violence severity and frequency. The aim of the current study was to define a data-basedbatterer’s typology and its implications for rehabilitation. Data were collected from 187 male sentenced forintimate partner violence –111 of them to prison and 76 to community service. A cluster analysis supporteda three-cluster solution: non-pathological (NP, 40%), antisocial/violent (AV, 27%) and disturbed batterers(DB, 33%). Subsequent analysis showed that AV batterers were profiled through the perpetration of physicaland psychological violence, antisocial behaviour, deviant lifestyle, criminal records, inter parental violenceand drug abuse; DB batterers, were profiled through behaviours of psychological violence, physicalaggression and hostility, clinical symptomatology (e.g., somatisation, depression, anxiety, paranoidideation), criminal records, antisocial behaviour, and a deviant lifestyle; and NP batterers were not profiledthrough any of the variables related to criminality and recidivism. Multinomial logistic regressionsupported different logistic models for batterer types in terms of psychopathological, antisocial andperpetrated violence-type variables. Implications of batterer typology on treatment are discussed.

Keywords

• Intimate partner violence
• Batterer treatment
• Batterer typology
• Community order
• Prison inmate