NCJ Number
194933
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 117-131
Date Published
June 2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study compared the personality profiles of women with multiple-abusive-relationship histories (n=42) to either abused women with one abusive relationship (n=33) or a control group (n=52) on the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI).
Abstract
A woman was assigned to the multiple-abusive-relationship group if she had experienced at least one physically abusive relationship and at least one other violent or emotionally abusive relationship. A woman was assigned to the single-abusive-relationship group when only one physically abusive relationship was reported. A 12-item, self-report demographic questionnaire was completed by the women in the two abuse groups. Psychopathology was assessed by the CATI, a 225-item self-report inventory designed to assess the 10 personality disorders according to the criteria listed on Axis II in the DSM-IV, the 2 personality disorders (passive-aggressive and depressive) in Appendix B of the DSM-IV, and the 2 personality disorders (self-defeating and sadistic) in Appendix A of the DSM-III-R; generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression from Axis I of the DSM-IV; and an overall maladjustment scale. The study found that women with multiple abusive relationships had higher rates and greater levels of dependent, paranoid, and self-defeating personality disorders than women in the other two groups. Women in multiple abusive relationships also had significantly more depression, and women in this group with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had significantly more personality disorders than women with single abusive relationships with PTSD. Women in single abusive relationships did not exhibit more psychopathology than women in the control group with matched marital status. Theoretical and methodological issues along with treatment recommendations are discussed. 4 tables and 46 references