Skip to main content
PMC home page
Injury Prevention logoLink to Injury Prevention
. 2005 Jun;11(3):180–185. doi: 10.1136/ip.2004.006247

A population based study of reporting patterns and characteristics of men who abuse their female partners

C Peek-Asa 1, C Zwerling 1, T Young 1, A Stromquist 1, L Burmeister 1, J Merchant 1
PMCID: PMC1730227  PMID: 15933412

Abstract

Objective: This study estimates the prevalence of male abusive behavior reported by men and their female partners and identifies characteristics of abusive men.

Design: Baseline survey from a population based cohort study of general health.

Setting: A rural county in Iowa, USA.

Subjects: 572 men and their cohabitating female partners.

Main outcome measures: Male-to-female physical, emotional, and sexual abuse reported by either partner.

Results: In this cohort, 13.6% of men had performed at least one act of physical abuse and 34.9% emotional abuse. More than 45% of abusive men reported their own behaviors. Alcohol problems, antisocial personality characteristics, depressive symptoms, and financial stress were all positively associated with both physical and emotional abuse, but suicidal thoughts were less likely among abusers.

Conclusion: Identification of common characteristics of abusive men may predict proclivity towards partner violence and barriers to behavior modification.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (82.0 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anglin Deirdre, Sachs Carolyn. Preventive care in the emergency department: screening for domestic violence in the emergency department. Acad Emerg Med. 2003 Oct;10(10):1118–1127. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2003.tb00585.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Archer J. Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2000 Sep;126(5):651–680. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.651. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barnett O. W., Hamberger L. K. The assessment of maritally violent men on the California Psychological Inventory. Violence Vict. 1992 Spring;7(1):15–28. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bergman B. K., Brismar B. G. Can family violence be prevented? A psychosocial study of male batterers and battered wives. Public Health. 1992 Jan;106(1):45–52. doi: 10.1016/s0033-3506(05)80328-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Buchsbaum D. G., Buchanan R. G., Centor R. M., Schnoll S. H., Lawton M. J. Screening for alcohol abuse using CAGE scores and likelihood ratios. Ann Intern Med. 1991 Nov 15;115(10):774–777. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-115-10-774. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Castro Roberto, Peek-Asa Corinne, Ruiz Agustin. Violence against women in Mexico: a study of abuse before and during pregnancy. Am J Public Health. 2003 Jul;93(7):1110–1116. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.7.1110. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Coker A. L., Smith P. H., Bethea L., King M. R., McKeown R. E. Physical health consequences of physical and psychological intimate partner violence. Arch Fam Med. 2000 May;9(5):451–457. doi: 10.1001/archfami.9.5.451. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Conner Kenneth R., Cerulli Catherine, Caine Eric D. Threatened and attempted suicide by partner-violent male respondents petitioned to family violence court. Violence Vict. 2002 Apr;17(2):115–125. doi: 10.1891/vivi.17.2.115.33645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cunradi Carol B., Caetano Raul, Schafer John. Alcohol-related problems, drug use, and male intimate partner violence severity among US couples. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2002 Apr;26(4):493–500. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Dube Shanta R., Anda Robert F., Felitti Vincent J., Edwards Valerie J., Williamson David F. Exposure to abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction among adults who witnessed intimate partner violence as children: implications for health and social services. Violence Vict. 2002 Feb;17(1):3–17. doi: 10.1891/vivi.17.1.3.33635. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ewing J. A. Detecting alcoholism. The CAGE questionnaire. JAMA. 1984 Oct 12;252(14):1905–1907. doi: 10.1001/jama.252.14.1905. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Fagan R. W., Barnett O. W., Patton J. B. Reasons for alcohol use in maritally violent men. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1988;14(3):371–392. doi: 10.3109/00952998809001558. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Goeckermann C. R., Hamberger L. K., Barber K. Issues of domestic violence unique to rural areas. Wis Med J. 1994 Sep;93(9):473–479. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gortner E. T., Gollan J. K., Jacobson N. S. Psychological aspects of perpetrators of domestic violence and their relationships with the victims. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1997 Jun;20(2):337–352. doi: 10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70316-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hamberger L. K., Hastings J. Characteristics of male spouse abusers consistent with personality disorders. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1988 Jul;39(7):763–770. doi: 10.1176/ps.39.7.763. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hastings J. E., Hamberger L. K. Personality characteristics of spouse abusers: a controlled comparison. Violence Vict. 1988 Spring;3(1):31–48. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Holtzworth-Munroe A., Saunders D. G. Men who batter: recent history and research. Violence Vict. 1996 Winter;11(4):273–276. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Holtzworth-Munroe A., Stuart G. L. Typologies of male batterers: three subtypes and the differences among them. Psychol Bull. 1994 Nov;116(3):476–497. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.476. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Holtzworth-Munroe Amy, Meehan Jeffrey C. Husband violence: personality disorders among male batterers. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2002 Feb;4(1):13–17. doi: 10.1007/s11920-002-0006-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Johnson M., Elliott B. A. Domestic violence among family practice patients in midsized and rural communities. J Fam Pract. 1997 Apr;44(4):391–400. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kershner Marion, Anderson Jon E. Barriers to disclosure of abuse among rural women. Minn Med. 2002 Mar;85(3):32–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kohout F. J., Berkman L. F., Evans D. A., Cornoni-Huntley J. Two shorter forms of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression) depression symptoms index. J Aging Health. 1993 May;5(2):179–193. doi: 10.1177/089826439300500202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Levendosky Alytia A., Huth-Bocks Alissa, Semel Michael A. Adolescent peer relationships and mental health functioning in families with domestic violence. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2002 Jun;31(2):206–218. doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3102_06. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Maiuro R. D., Cahn T. S., Vitaliano P. P., Wagner B. C., Zegree J. B. Anger, hostility, and depression in domestically violent versus generally assaultive men and nonviolent control subjects. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1988 Feb;56(1):17–23. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.56.1.17. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Margolin Gayla, Gordis Elana B. Co-occurrence between marital aggression and parents' child abuse potential: the impact of cumulative stress. Violence Vict. 2003 Jun;18(3):243–258. doi: 10.1891/vivi.2003.18.3.243. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Mayfield D., McLeod G., Hall P. The CAGE questionnaire: validation of a new alcoholism screening instrument. Am J Psychiatry. 1974 Oct;131(10):1121–1123. doi: 10.1176/ajp.131.10.1121. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. McNutt Louise Anne, Carlson Bonnie E., Rose Isabel M., Robinson David A. Partner violence intervention in the busy primary care environment. Am J Prev Med. 2002 Feb;22(2):84–91. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(01)00407-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Merchant James A., Stromquist Ann M., Kelly Kevin M., Zwerling Craig, Reynolds Stephen J., Burmeister Leon F. Chronic disease and injury in an agricultural county: The Keokuk County Rural Health Cohort Study. J Rural Health. 2002 Fall;18(4):521–535. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2002.tb00919.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Milroy C. M., Dratsas M., Ranson D. L. Homicide-suicide in Victoria, Australia. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 1997 Dec;18(4):369–373. doi: 10.1097/00000433-199712000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Murty Susan A., Peek-Asa Corinne, Zwerling Craig, Stromquist Ann M., Burmeister Leon F., Merchant James A. Physical and emotional partner abuse reported by men and women in a rural community. Am J Public Health. 2003 Jul;93(7):1073–1075. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.7.1073. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Pan H. S., Neidig P. H., O'Leary K. D. Predicting mild and severe husband-to-wife physical aggression. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994 Oct;62(5):975–981. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.62.5.975. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Rhodes Karin V., Levinson Wendy. Interventions for intimate partner violence against women: clinical applications. JAMA. 2003 Feb 5;289(5):601–605. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.5.601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Schafer J., Caetano R., Clark C. L. Rates of intimate partner violence in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1998 Nov;88(11):1702–1704. doi: 10.2105/ajph.88.11.1702. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Stuart Gregory L., Moore Todd M., Kahler Christopher W., Ramsey Susan E. Substance abuse and relationship violence among men court-referred to batterers' intervention programs. Subst Abus. 2003 Jun;24(2):107–122. doi: 10.1080/08897070309511539. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Van Hightower N. R., Gorton J. Domestic violence among patients at two rural health care clinics: prevalence and social correlates. Public Health Nurs. 1998 Oct;15(5):355–362. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1998.tb00360.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Wathen C. Nadine, MacMillan Harriet L. Interventions for violence against women: scientific review. JAMA. 2003 Feb 5;289(5):589–600. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.5.589. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Injury Prevention are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES