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Abandonment and Engulfment: A Bimodal Classification of Anxiety in Domestic Violence Perpetrators

NCJ Number
247392
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2014 Pages: 200-206
Author(s)
Aaron J. Kivisto
Date Published
June 2014
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the role that personality plays in understanding domestic violence perpetrators.
Abstract
This article focuses on perpetrators of domestic violence and the role that personality plays in the development of this form of violence. The article highlights the advances in research that have moved from viewing partner violence as an extreme form of psychopathological violence - one born out of madness and jealousy - to partner violence that stems from differing personality characteristics. While early research has found that jealousy is a risk factor for perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV), the findings did not support the idea that IPV was the product of madness. Current research in IPV has focused on the development of a dynamic model of IPV and the role that anxiety plays in the development of domestic violence. The article discusses the theoretical links between two particular forms of anxiety: abandonment-related anxieties and engulfment-related anxieties, and the perpetration of IPV in certain individuals. Various studies that have examined this link are discussed. References