“A Psychological Profile of Batterers”

            The author of this paper has the goal of researching a number of issues involving batterers and their behavior. It will be discovered in this paper the types of batterers, causes of their behavior, and the cycles of violent behavior. This topic will be researched from a psychological perspective with some possible sociological and biological perspectives also tied in. The reader upon finishing will be able to understand the behavior of a batterer in a psychological perspective, and will get insight from a variety of theories on batterers. At the end of the paper if time permits it will also be discussed the types of help available to these batterers and how effective the treatment is.

            The first thing to understand is that not all batterers come from a specific kind of area, upbringing, or race. Batterers come from rich and poor families, different religions, backgrounds, and occupations. In being such a diverse area it is often difficult to pinpoint specific tendencies that all batterers have in common; therefore, making scientific research on this topic a difficult task.

            Although there is much diversity among batterers there are some common characteristics they share. Batterers all seem to have one ultimate fear in common, this being the fear of abandonment. Batterers often are reliant on their spouse for much of their emotional support, and other types of support and they are afraid of losing. Another characteristic these men have in common is the extreme jealousy. When becoming jealous, batterers often lose control and the loss of control then leads to their behavior. Another interesting fact that has been discovered is that most of the time batterers lack good social skills.

            In the book “The Batterer: A Psychological Profile”, Dr. Donald G. Dutton breaks down batterers into different categories. Dr. Dutton says that batterers are one of three types, which include psychopathic wife assaulters, over controlled wife assaulters, or cyclical/ emotionally volatile wife abusers. It is said that all batterers fall into one of these categories.

            The first category according to Dr. Dutton is psychopathic wife assaulters. In studies it has been shown that forty percent of the men coming to Dr. Dutton for treatment were also diagnosed with having antisocial personality. These batterers have had a history of crime and criminal behavior. Most batterers usually have a feeling of guilt or remorse after they have been abused, however, these men don’t have those feelings. The psychopathic wife assaulter has no guilty feelings they are numb. The reason for their lack of guilt or remorse is because these men don’t have the ability of feeling other people’s pains or fears; thus, they can’t have the empathy that leads to the feelings of guilt.

            Another interesting detail that Dr. Dutton found in these men is that when given a MRI their activity in the brain was low. Upon an MRI normal male brains are very active and a great amount of color is shown on the MRI indicating activity; however, these men had little activity and small amounts of color. Dr. Dutton said that when his collogues viewed these MRI results the results were compared to those of a dead man due to the lack of color and activity.

            Often times the psychopathic wife assaulter is generally abusive toward others. Treatment for this type of batterer is often difficult because they are unable to learn from their mistakes. Since the psychopathic wife assaulter is unable to learn from their mistakes they often repeat the same mistakes in the same cycle.

            The next category that batterers fall into is called over controlled wife assaulters. Thirty percent of the men coming to Dr. Dutton fell into this particular category. Some of the characteristics associated with over controlled wife assaulters are distance, avoidance of feelings, and some show tendencies for passive aggressiveness. This type of batterer is one who tends to bottle things up until they cannot hold anymore at which point they explode and lose control. The over controlled wife assaulter can fall into two separate categories, which include active type, or passive type.

            The active types of over controlled wife assaulters tend to be what Dr. Dutton refers to as “control freaks.” These batterers have an extreme expectation of perfection from their spouse. The active type has to be in control of their spouses all of the time, and often controls others around them. Dr. Dutton refers to the active types being a good candidate for treatment because they have an eagerness to please the therapist.

            The next type of over controlled wife assaulter is referred to as passive type. The passive type is described as separating himself from his wife and often times family. The main argument her according to Dr. Dutton is the lack of “emotional contact”. Dr. Dutton refers to the passive type of over controlled wife assaulter as being an extremely good candidate for therapy.

            The third and final type of batterer referred to by Dr. Dutton as the cyclical/ emotionally volatile wife abuser. This type of abuser tends to be extremely jealous, has a lot of rage, moodiness, irritability, and is often extremely violent. For this type of abuser it is necessary for them to always be in total control. One of the characteristics associated with these batterers is that they make demands that are unrealistic and when the demand isn’t met they punish their spouse. This kind of batterer can be referred to treatment; however, they are not always good candidates because they are very deceiving.

            According to Dr. Dutton there are there specific cycles that occur for the batterer. These cycles include: Tension building phase, Acute Battering Phase, and The Contrition Phase. All batterers go through these cycles and the cycles are repetitive.

            The first cycle is called The tension building phase. In this phase the batterer tends to be “triggered” by something, which causes their feelings of extreme jealousy. There are a variety of things that can set a trigger to the batterer, which may range from just the mention of something he takes as being a rival toward him to absolutely nothing at all other than feelings of rage. This particular jealousy is very intense and the batterer in turn loses control and abuse begins again.

            The second cycle is The acute battering phase. The actual abuse begins with this cycle. It has been described by social psychologist Phil Zimbardo that this often times is the only way the batterer knows how to release tensions. Abuse allows the batterer to release their feelings, which become addictive for the abuser and the cycle then repeats itself. The abuse can take place at anytime the abuser feels bad, and according to Dr. Dutton it is not uncommon for these batterers to wake up their spouses from sleep to begin beating them.

            The third and final phase in the cycle of violence is known as the contrition phase. This phase starts after the abuse stops and the tension is gone. The abuser during this phase may be feeling a range of feelings from guilt to relief. Often times during this phase the abuser will either deny what has happened to apologizing for their actions and promising to never do it again. After the abuse has stopped and this phase has begun it is not uncommon for the batterer to send an extravagant gift or to buy something for their spouse and at this point tensions are better between the two. This phase lasts until the next violent outbreak occurs and something’s it is often also referred to as “The Honeymoon Phase.”

            The next important information essential to the understanding of a batterer is to find out why they act out their behaviors. The first and most common insight on the batterer’s behavior is that their behavior is learned. It is said that many batterers; however, not all of them, grew up in a violent home. In a survey that was conducted by sociologist Murray Straus the results discovered that young men who witnessed abuse within their home were three times more likely to beat their wives when they were adults. Although some children growing up in abusive homes do have violent tendencies toward their spouses as adults, according to Dr. Dutton scientists have discovered the majority of them do not.

            Another important area to look at when determining the causes of violent behavior is substance abuse. Substance abuse can cause odd behaviors; however, it is essential to understand the significance between that and the batterers behavior. In the book “When Violence Begins at Home,” Edward Gondolf, a psychiatric researcher and sociology professor came up with three theories included The “disinhibition” theory, The “disavowal” theory, and The “interaction” theory.”

            Gondolfs first theory, The “disinhibition” theory, says that when people drink it leads to antisocial behavior. When people drink often times they act differently when they are under the influence than when they are sober, thus describing the anti social behavior. Gondolf believes that this different behavior then in turn causes the abuse while the person is under the influence. Gendolf directly states, “The implication is that violence is caused by alcohol abuse.”

            Gondolfs second theory is The “disavowa” theory. This theory places a strong importance on social learning in the cycle of violence accompanied by substance or alcohol abuse. When a batterer drinks or uses a substance and they become violent they then use their substance abuse as an excuse for their behavior. The cycle of substance abuse and violence repeats itself and the behavior is learned.

            Gondolfs third and final theory on substance abuse and violence is called The “interaction” theory. Gondolf says, “A variety of physiological, psychological, and social factors explain the relationship of violence, and abuse.” This basically comes down to the fact that all there factors not just substance abuse alone contributes to abuse, and the degree of the abuse.

            The next essential factor to explore is at what age can these batterers begin acting out their behaviors. Violent behaviors of batterers tend to usually begin with adolescence. Adolescence is such a time of exploration for ones self, new adventures, and finding ones own place in the world. For a batterer this can be a time of great anger and confusion. The young man often finds himself very angry and does some things that are typically written off by others as being just “ a teenage phase.” Some of the characteristics described by Dr. Dutton are as follows “the young man has many stormy relationships”, “he has extreme anger”, and he has “an extreme obsession with girls.” Others may write off these characteristics as phases; however, they usually are more extreme than your average teen boy and should not be ignored.

            The next portion of this paper will consist greatly of statistics. In understanding abuse and problems associated with a batterers behavior it is important to understand statistics. Statistics give a pictorial account for problems and just how widespread they are. Statistics also represent scientific research on the subject. The statistics will be outlined in charts, graphs, and numbers.

            The first chart shows the increase of domestic violence from the years 1993-1999.

Source: Violence by , Bureau of Justice. Washington DC, 1998.

            Klier, Barbara. The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships.

            Wylie, Texas. 1999.

            Statistically according to Barbara A. Klier. M.Ed, author of “The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships”, anti social men were 15 times more likely to be violent toward family members other than wives. These men commit abuse against wives; however, they also carry this to other members of the family. Some of the other members may include but are not limited to mothers and children. The first type of anti-social man has the following characteristics which include heart rate goes down as argument takes place, they are extremely insulting and threatening to their wives, and they use fear as a sense  of control over their wife. The following statistics were given to demonstrate this particular personality. IT was said that:

·        43 percent of these men were violent toward other family members

·        56 percent of these men also had fathers who abused their mothers

The next type of anti-social man was described as being type II anti-social. This mans characteristics were different from the type I anti-social man. This type was described as: increasing heart rate as they become angry, they are less emotionally abusive during confirmation, and they are afraid of abandonment which causes them to be extremely jealous. The following statistics were given:

·        3 percent of these men are more abusive outside of marriage

·        13 percent of these men had fathers who were abusive toward their mothers

·        28 percent were either divorced or separated

The next table is demonstrative of how often abuse occurs, and how often it is

Reported. This table will demonstrate the occurrences of abuse and most common reasons abuse goes unreported.

TABLE

Female victims of intimate violence, 1992-1996

Violent Crime against Intimate Reported            Violent Crime against intimate unreported

                        52.1%                                                              47.8%

Most Given Reasons for not reporting:

Private or personal manner                                                        15.4%

Afraid of the offender/ retaliation                                                 7.3%

Police would do nothing                                                              4.4%

Incident was not important enough                                               3.5%

No one reason most important                                        1.7%

Reported to another official                                                          1.1%

Don’t Know                                                                                  .7%

Other                                                                                         13.6%

Source: Violence by Intimates, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington DC, 1998.

            Klier, Barbara. The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships.

            Wylie, Texas 1999.

            The following table follow the prior table to show action that was taken once violence was reported. This table demonstrates the actions taken by law enforcement and consequences the batterers were given for their behavior.

TABLE

Female Victims of Intimate Violence 1992-1996

Crime against intimate reported             Crime against intimate unreported

Police Responded to victim                               Police did not respond

Actions Taken by police:

            Took an official report                          70%

            Questioned witness/ suspect                              29%

            Arrested the offender                                        20%

            Searched for evidence                                      6%

            In conclusion about 1 in 3 offenders were arrested or charged for the abuse or assault between the times of the incident to the interview with the victim.

Source: Violence by Intimates, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington DC, 1998

            Klier, Barbara.  Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships

            Wylie, TX, 1999.

            The next question that could be asked is how long it generally takes law enforcement to respond to a domestic call. The following chart will answer this particular question. This chart is based on the number of women who called law enforcement for assistance.

Source: Violence by Intimates, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington DC, 1998.

            Klier, Barbara. The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships.

            Wylie, TX 1999.

            The question that is of concern now is the question “Is arrest effective?” It is most important to understand and know what kinds of treatments are best and most effective to prevent the behavior in the future.

            The following are some interesting statistics that are important to know about batterers and arrest. The following statistics can be found in The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships, Klier, Barabara. Wylie, Texas 1999.

·        64.9 percent of the offenders arrested for abuse had a previous criminal record

·        On average the time spent in jail after being arrest for domestic violence was only 9.4 hours, and a quarter of the men spent less than 4 hours in jail

·        In less than 1 percent of these cases the offender did not spend any time in jail

·        Only 35.5 percent of the arrests or citations issued led to prosecution

·        59 percent of the victims were abused again after the arrest

·        Out of the 50 percent abused again after arrest 31 percent were abused five times or more.

There are various tools used to prevent future occurrences of domestic violence.

These include the following: arrest, counseling, requiring charges be filed, and protective orders. The most important thing to preventing future occurrences is rehabilitation of the offender.

            One type of help that comes under scrutiny often are protective orders. A judge to ensure the offender stays away from the victim issues protective orders. These orders may also be referred to as “restraining orders.” The following chart shows the statistics of a study done in 3 geographical locations. In the study the women were give protective orders and studied to see the effectiveness of the protective order. The following table demonstrates the results of this particular study.

Perceived Effectiveness Measured by Quality of Life

Life Improved                                                               %                                 %

All Sites

            Delaware                                                          82.2                             87.5

            Denver                                                             74.4                             89.7

            District of Columbia                                          61.9                             79.4

Feel Better                  

            Delaware                                                          82.2                             92.9

            Denver                                                             74.4                             93.1

            District of Columbia                                          61.9                             92.1

Feel Safer        

            Delaware                                                          77.8                             83.7

            Denver                                                             83.3                             82.9

            District of Columbia                                          61.9                             71.4

Source: Domestic Violence and Stalking. The Second Annual Report to Congress under the Violence against Women Act, Violence Against Women Grants Office, US Department of Justice, Washington DC, 1997.

            The victims of these offenders often suffer greatly and sometimes end up in trouble with the law themselves. Sometimes these women end up killing their abusers themselves. Many of these women can suffer from a condition known as “battered women’s syndrome.” This syndrome is associated with women who are victims of abuse. Characteristics of these women include low self esteem, isolation, confusion, sadness, and they often feel there is no way out of their situation. The following chart demonstrates the number of women in prison for killing their abusers compared to other homicides.

Women in Prison for Homicide

Relationship of victim to offender                                               Percent of females serving a

Intimate                                                                                                31.9

Relative                                                                                                17.0

Well Known                                                                                         14.3

Acquaintance                                                                                        12.8

Known by sight only                                                                             2.7

Stranger                                                                                               21.3

Source: Tracy Snell, Women in Prison, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington DC,        1994.

            Klier, Barabra, The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships. Wylie TX, 1999.

            This chart clearly proves that the highest percentage of women in prison were sentenced to prison time for killing an intimate. The majority of these women were abused. This is a good chart used to demonstrate and compare the women in prison for killing their spouse/ intimate as compared to women in prison for killing other people.

            The prior statistics were used to demonstrate both the problem of the batterer’s behaviors and its effects on other things. These effects were shown among the family, how society handles the problem, law enforcement perspective, and also used to demonstrate the behaviors of the victim.

            There are many conclusions, suggestions, and policy implications that can be drawn from this paper. A variety of methods to prevent abuse, treat batterers, and detect who will abuse have been discussed which now brings the time to conclude things that have been discussed.

            One of the most essential things to learn when dealing with batterers is not all batterers are alike; however, they do share in some common characteristics. It is important to be able to differentiate among these batterers and their behavior. Three types of batterers were discussed which were the psychopathic wife assaulters, over controlled wife assaulters, and cyclical/ emotionally voliatile wife abusers. It is important to remember these three categories and to determine what type of batterer an individual is for treatment purposes.

            To summarize all of this information it is essential to understand that battering is a crime that is diverse scattering over a variety of social classes, ages, races, and also regions. Batterers are broken into different categories and it is essential to understand this before treatment can occur.

            In conclusion it is easy to see that there is a pattern of violence that batterers tend to share. This pattern can also be referred to as “The Cycle of Violence.” The cycle of violence has 3 major stages which basically include the 1. The tension building phase,  2. The battering phase, and 3. The honeymoon period. This cycle is common among all batterers despite the differences in other aspects.

            Statistics have proven that just a bit over half of these battering episodes are reported to law enforcement officials. Law enforcement officers when responding to a call often times do a variety of things as far as their investigatory techniques. When responding to a domestic call police officers routinely take a official report, question witnesses, victim, and the suspect, they tend to arrest the offender, and they search for evidence. It was also shown that overall law enforcement responded within an acceptable time frame.

            Another technique that was researched was the issuance from a judicial officer to a victim of domestic violence of protective orders. A major study was done in four major US geographic locations including: Delaware, Denver, and District of Columbia. The overall response of this survey showed to be promising. Most of the victims from the initial interview to after having the protective order tended to feel more comfortable and their life did improve upon the issuance of the protective order.

            One very interesting fact that was shown in the statistic part of this paper was females in prison. This table showed the women who were in prison for homicide. The highest percentages of women in prison were 31.9% and were in prison for homicide against an intimate. This is a very interesting fact and can draw many conclusions. It is a curiosity of how many of those women in prison for killing their intimate partner were in fact victims of domestic violence.

            There are a variety of programs that states are adopting to help in the fight against domestic violence. One of the programs is requiring charges be pressed upon the accused without the victim having to press the charges. Another good thing that is being done is a required “cool off” period in jail for the batterers. Batterers are required in many states now to do time ranging from 24-72 hours in jail for their actions. Many states are also incorporating probation programs for batters that not only mandate they stay out of trouble with the law but also require them to seek counseling and attend group sessions.

            All of these are amazing programs that are showing some progress toward the treatment of batters. Although these are great programs there is still much improvement that is desired to occur. One of the programs that would offer a great help is group family sessions. It is essential that the family also be treated for the battering along with the batterer. Children learn the cycle of violence and the concern is if these children go untreated they could potentially carry this cycle with them causing them to act in the same behaviors as the batterers when they become adults. Treating the family is just as important as treating the batterer.

            Another good thing that could be done to help cut down on domestic violence is stiffer penalties in the law. Laws need to be changed and until they are domestic violence will continue. Domestic Violence should carry heavier jail time and also prison terms. It is important to have domestic violence carry heavier time not only when a woman is severely beaten or killed.

            In conclusion domestic violence has improved quite a bit; however, there is still much improvement needed to cause a significant drop in these battering episodes.

Sources:

Burby, Lisa. “Family Violence.” Lucent Books. 1999. San Diego, CA.

Dozinger, Steven. “The Real War on Crime: The National Report of the National

            Criminal Justice Commission.” Harper Perennial. 1999. New York, NY.

Dutton, Donald. “A Psychological Profile of The Batterer.” Harper Collins. 1995.

            New York, NY.

Gondolf, Edward. “Men Who Batterer: An Integrated Approach for Stopping Wife

            Abuse.” Learning Publications. 1998. Holmes Beach, Fla.

Klier, Barbara. “The Information Series on Current Topics: Violent Relationships.”

            Information Plus. 1999. Wylie, TX.