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Typologies of Men Who Are Maritally Violent: Scientific and Clinical Implications

NCJ Number
224621
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2004 Pages: 1369-1389
Author(s)
Amy Holtzworth-Munroe; Jeffrey C. Meehan
Date Published
December 2004
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on distinctions between various levels and possible differing causes of husband violence.
Abstract
The review found that across studies, batterer subtypes resembling those proposed by Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart have been identified and generally found to differ in predicted ways. Longitudinal data from this study suggest that the subgroups continued to differ over 3 years. Over time, however, it was found that the placement of individual men into some subtypes was not stable. Whether to best conceptualize the heterogeneity among maritally violent men as differing subtypes or as variability along dimensions was also considered. The work notes that varying levels and types of husband violence may be conceptualized as typologies of maritally violent men. In addition, clinical issues regarding the typology are discussed, including the concern that the use of absolute cut-off points to identify subtypes is premature and consideration of using the typology to predict treatment outcome and to match interventions to subtypes. The authors contend that regarding future research ideas, it is time to consider more immediate, situational, and dyadic processes leading to violence perpetration within each subtype. The article reviewed a 1994 study of 15 existing batterer typologies of men who were maritally violent. References