Personality types and characteristics of serious physical assaulters in marriage

Objective To explore the personality characteristics of spousal batterers who committed serious violence and to provide solid reference for prevention and management tactics on domestic violence.Methods Case-control design and stratified sampling methods were used.A total of 200 families of long-term residents in Xianyang city,Shaanxi province were surveyed with Conflict Tactics Scale and Personality Diagnosis Questionnaire(PDQ)4th vision.Independent sample t-test and chi-square analysis were used to examine the difference betw een the two groups.Results The PDQ total score(34.24±16.13 vs 27.05±19.56),scores in schizoid subtype(1.75±1.43 vs 1.17±1.08),schizotypal subtype(2.58±1.61 vs 1.89±1.66),antisocial subtype(3.28±4.17 vs 1.93±3.35),borderline subtype(3.33±1.81 vs 2.53±2.06),and dependent subtype(3.52±2.10 vs 2.52±2.20)of battlers group were significantly higher than those of control group(P<0.05).The number of people who reached the cutting-off point of antisocial dimension in battlers group was significantly greater than that in control group(χ²=5.49,P<0.05).Conclusion The mental health condition of serious spouse-batters was problematic with some negative personality characteristics.