Acts of Intimate Partner Violence and Feelings of Danger in Battered Women Seeking Help in a Spanish Specialized Care Unit

Acts of violence recounted by 161 female victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) attended at a psychological care service in Spain are presented. The relationship between acts of violence and feelings of danger, childhood abuse, and dyadic adjustment are analyzed. Reported acts of IPV were obtained through a Semi-structured Interview on Domestic Violence; and marital satisfaction was assessed with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The results showed women who have felt their lives were in danger are more likely to have been victimized. In addition, women who were both abused by their partner and sexually abuse as children are the ones that perceive more situations of danger in their adult couple relationship. The importance of studying perceived danger and the diversity of IPV experiences are discussed to aid prevention and intervention strategies.     

Personality Profiles in Abused Women Receiving Psychotherapy According to the Existence of Childhood Abuse

This study explores the personality profiles and the influence of childhood abuse on personality profiles of a group of 142 female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who attended a specialized, free care, public outpatient psychological care service in Spain. Characteristics of the abuse were obtained through a semi-structured interview, and personality profiles were assessed using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (Millon, 1983/1999), validated for the Spanish population. Results revealed that most of the women showed elevations on the basic personality scales, especially on the Dependent, Avoidant, Self-defeating, and Compulsive scales. Women who suffered childhood abuse presented greater elevations in Avoidant, Antisocial, Passive-Aggressive, Self-defeating, and Borderline scales. The importance of studying the effects of violence in intimate relationships in order to analyze prevention and intervention strategies is discussed.