Can Sex Offender Classification Inform Typologies

The general perception that the perpetrators and the victims of domestic violence are homogeneous (Follingstad, Laughlin, Polek, Rutledge, & Hause, 1991) was challenged in a series of empirical studies beginning in the mid-1980s. Hamberger and Hastings (1986) derived three subtypes (passive-dependent, narcissistic-antisocial, schizoidal-borderline) from the factor analysis of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory on 105 men. Caesar (1986) compared male batterers who were in treatment with men who were nonviolent who were in treatment, using structured interview data. Caesar identified four subtypes that were described as (a) self-centered, hostile, and paranoid; (b) histrionic; (c) unassertive; and (4) psychotic. Saunders (1987) examined male batterers who were referred for treatment. Cluster analysis suggested three subtypes: (a) those men who were most violent, abused alco-hol, and who were victims of abuse as children; (b) men who were character-ized primarily by depression, jealousy, and anger; and (c) men who had mod-erate levels of depression and anger, occasionally abused alcohol, and tended to suppress or deny their problems. These latter men in group C were charac-terized as unassertive individuals who were likely to suppress their anger until the anger was disinhibited by alcohol or stress. Maiuro, Cahn, Vitaliano, Wagner, and Zegree (1988) compared male batterers with men who were assaultive who were not batterers, finding that the male batterers were much more likely to be clinically depressed. Shields, McCall, and Hanneke (1988) compared male batterers who were assaultive only within the family to male batterers who were also assaultive outside the family and men who wer