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Abstract
Abuse of women by their male partners is a significant threat to the health and safety of at least two million women each year in the U.S. Early attempts to describe and understand this phenomenon focused primarily on examining victim characteristics that were assumed to contribute to victimization. More recent efforts to understand men's violence toward their female partners however, have shifted the focus onto the behavior and characteristics of the abuser. From this perspective, effective intervention in domestic violence requires a better understanding of abusive men. Yet, in spite of numerous studies of batterer characteristics, the field has not identified a unique profile that differentiates batterers from other clinical and non-clinical samples. Instead, several studies have substantiated the existence of different types of batterers, suggesting several different profiles. Such findings have prompted some researchers to formulate typologies of batterers. The development of a valid batterer classification system may have important implications for effective intervention with batterers and could aid efforts to improve protection for victims.
The present study examined the validity of a batterer typology scheme proposed by Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart (1994). Information regarding psychological characteristics and generality and severity of violent behavior was gathered for 91 batterers court-ordered to a batterer treatment program. The data were analyzed through factor and cluster analyses and three types were identified: family-only, generally-violent/anti-social, and dysphoric/borderline batterers. Although the proportions of the three types were different than expected, the results provide preliminary confirmation of the Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart (1994) typology. Implications for treatment and violence abatement post-treatment are also discussed.