Clinical and Personality Disorders in a Danish Treatment-Seeking Sample of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

• Author: Siobhan Murphy,Christine Jacobsen,Ask Elklit,Morgan Kezia Jensen
• Published date: 01 August 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17741603
• Date: 01 August 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17741603

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(11) 3322 –3336

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17741603

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Article

Clinical and Personality

Disorders in a Danish

Treatment-Seeking Sample

of Intimate Partner Violence

Perpetrators

Ask Elklit1, Siobhan Murphy1, Christine Jacobsen2,

and Morgan Kezia Jensen3

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health concern with profound

psychological consequences. Perpetrators often have a history of childhood trauma

and a range of co-occurring psychiatric problems, which may have implications for

treatment. This study examines the prevalence of psychiatric and personality disorders

(PD) among perpetrators and the association between a range of demographic,

childhood trauma, and adult criminality variables for the most prominent disorders.

Data were collected from IPV perpetrators (n = 529) engaging in a treatment

program, ‘Dialogue Against Violence’. High rates of childhood trauma were observed.

There was significant variation in the prevalence of clinical disorders and PDs, with

Antisocial PD and Anxiety Disorder being the most common. A clinical disorder was

the strongest predictor of PDs, likewise a PD was the strongest predictor of clinical

disorders. Findings demonstrated that IPV perpetrators have a number of personality

and clinical disorders and traumatic histories that need to be considered within a

treatment perspective.

Keywords

intimate partner violence, perpetrator characteristics, psychopathology, Millon

Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, personality disorders

1University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

2Dialogue Against Violence, Copenhagen, Denmark

3House of Psychologists, Odense, Denmark

Corresponding Author:

Siobhan Murphy, Department of Psychology, National Centre of Psychotraumatology, University of

Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M, Denmark.

Email: smurphy@health.sdu.dk

741603IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X17741603International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyElklit et al.

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