Borderline and Antisocial Personality Scores as Mediators Between Attachment and Intimate Partner Violence

• NCJ Number: 218369
• Journal: Violence and Victims Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: 2007 Pages: 139-157
• Author(s): Anne Marie Mauricio Ph.D.; Jenn-Yun Tein Ph.D.; Frederick G. Lopez Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether there were significant relationships between anxious attachment and physical and psychological violence that were mediated by either borderline or antisocial personality disorders among male batterers (n=192) attending an intervention program.

Abstract

The study found that personality disorders significantly mediated the relationships between adult attachment orientations and indexes of physical and psychological violence. Antisocial personality disorder functioned as a mechanism through which avoidant adult attachment was related to both physical and psychological violence. Borderline personality disorder functioned as a mechanism through which anxious adult attachment was related to both physical and psychological violence. Both borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder mediated relationships between adult avoidant attachment and violence; and antisocial personality disorder in addition to borderline personality disorder mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and physical violence. Intervention programs that serve batterers with antisocial and/or borderline personality disorders may have to address the batterer's personality disorder in order to end his violence against women. Because personality disorders are stable characteristics with a poor prognosis even with many years of intensive psychotherapy, interventions should be lengthy and intensive. The 192 male batterers participating in an intervention program completed measures that examined adult attachment orientations (anxious and avoidant), personality disorders (borderline and antisocial), type of violence (psychological and physical), and social desirability. The instruments used were the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised, the Experiences in Close Relationships short form, the Conflict Tactics Scale, the short form of the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Scale, and the short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. 1 table, 2 figures, and 90 references