Implications of Personality Profiles for Batterer Treatment

Abstract

Research on men who batter women has recently given a great deal of attention to personality types of batterers. Treatment recommendations for batterer types have relied primarily on aggregated statistical analyses of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI), but may be misleading because the MCMI is designed to be interpreted using individual profiles. The authors employed a profile analysis with MCMI-III results of 100 batterers randomly drawn from 840 men enrolled in four batterer programs. Case examples are used to illustrate the personality profiles and their treatment implications. The profile analysis suggests six major personality groupings that in part reflect previously established types. However, the majority of batterers exhibit narcissistic or avoidant traits that are well suited for the prevailing cognitive-behavioral group treatment approach. A smaller proportion of men evidence personality problems that may warrant adjunctive psychiatric services or individual psychotherapy. In sum, “one size” of treatment appears to fit most.

Typological approaches to violence in couples: A critique and alternative conceptual approach

“…These three types are respectively low, moderate, and high on severity and frequency of violence and on psychopathology, as well as criminal history. White and Gondolf (2000) also argued that six subgroups of batterers they identified on the basis of individual Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) profiles reflect, in fact, a continuum of narcissistic and avoidant tendencies that cut across the subgroups. The batterers could be characterized as ranging from modest personality dysfunction to personality pathology.…”

Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

“…Empirical support for the typology has been successfully gathered across many studies over the years (Chase, O'Leary & Heyman, 2001;Gottman et al, 1995;Tweed & Dutton 1998;Hamberger, Lohr, Bonge & Tolin, 1996;Waltz, Babcock, Jacobson & Gottman, 2000;White & Gondolf, 2000). Of particular interest, Holtzworth-Munroe, Meehan, Herron, Rehman & Stuart (2000) found support using a community sample of 102 men who had been violent toward their intimate partner during the previous 12 months.…”

Supplemental mental health treatment for batterer program participants

“…As discussed in this section, the high prevalence of men scoring positive on the BSI warranted further investigation for several reasons, rather than a personal bias or assumption. One, the BSI prevalence was almost double the results on the more sophisticated MCMI-III that more specifically approximates DSM-IV diagnoses (Gondolf, 1999b;White & Gondolf, 2000). Two, we were confronted by the very small portion of men receiving a clinical diagnosis that warranted treatment.…”

“…According to studies with the MCMI-I, as much as 40% of men entering programs show evidence of psychopathology, much of which might be expressed in the form of personality tendencies or disorders (Hamberger & Hastings, 1991;Hamberger et al, 1996). The vast majority of the personality disorders, according to the MCMI interpretative manuals (Choca & Van Denburg, 1997), would most appropriately be addressed by highly structured cognitive-behavioral treatment much like those commonly used in batterer counseling (White & Gondolf, 2000). In our previous studies with the MCMI-III, a quarter of the men in four cities (N=854) appeared to have Axis I disorders (i.e., the MCMI "clinical syndromes" or "severe syndromes"), excluding alcohol dependence and anxiety disorders, and as much as 40% had evidence of an Axis I disorder when anxiety disorder and alcohol or drug dependence were included (Gondolf, 1999b).…”

“…Research on these questions might initially address psychopathology, or mental health problems, in terms of DSM-IV Axis I disorders (e.g., major depression, bipolar, delusional, posttraumatic stress, anxiety disorders), including dual-diagnosed addiction. Axis II personality disorders may also be of concern but the most prevalent of these disorders among batterer program participants (i.e., antisocial, narcissistic, and passive-aggressive disorders) are generally prescribed the kind of structured, cognitive-behavioral counseling used in the majority of batterer programs (Rice, 1997;White & Gondolf, 2000). Moreover, some clinical researchers suggest that many of the extremely antisocial men are unresponsive to counseling in general, and typically do not comply to batterer counseling, let alone supplemental mental health treatment (Dutton, 1998;Jacobson & Gottman, 1998).…”