The Complexity of male violence: some psychological factors and their treatment implications

This paper reports on a survey of 123 men over a two-year period who were participating in a group program because of their violence towards female partners. The questionnaire administered included a number of demographic variables as well as the following scales: Abusive Behavior Inventory (Shepard & Campbell, 1992), Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990), Family of Origin Scale (Hovestadt, Anderson, Piercy, Cochran & Fine, 1985), Primary Communication Scale (Navran, 1967), Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996), Internal Control Index (Duttweiler, 1984) and Bias in Attitudes Survey (Jean & Reynolds, 1980). A factor analysis of the Abusive Behavior Inventory resulted in three factors: Dominate and Degrade, Attack and Damage, and Intimidate and Punish. The results are analyzed within the framework of this factor structure. Findings indicated that male violence was associated with insecure attachment, depression, external locus of control, and negative attitudes towards women. A number of treatment implications are drawn from these results.