Literature Review 219nonviolent males, batterers showed higher levels of dysphoria, anxiety, and somatic
complaints. The batterers in their sample presented as more alienated, moody, la-
bile, and passive-aggressive. Alcoholic batterers showed the highest levels ot pathol-
ogy, followed by non-alcohol-abusive batterers. Both batterer subgroups showed a
greater disadvantage in terms of higher unemployment rates; lower education; and
higher rates of reported, experienced, and witnessed violence victimization in the
family of origin. In general, their findings provide support for the notion that bat-
terers are a heterogeneous group and cannot be adequately explained by a unified
"batterer profile."
Current literature on psychopathology and anger suggests that both significantly
contribute to interpersonal violence. Greene, Coles, and Johnson (1994) conducted
a cluster analysis with data gathered from 40 court-referred abusers. The Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the State-Trait Anger Expres-
sion Inventory (STAXI) were utilized as measures of personality functioning and the
expression of anger among abusers in the sample. The MMPI-2 scores demonstrated
that domestic violence offenders indicated some degree of depression, antisocial at-
titudes, distrust, anxiety, and other psychopathology. Results confirmed four clusters
of violent offenders, with the most pathological cluster having the most anger. Fur-
thermore, these results were also consistent with the literature in that there was not
a single, homogeneous "abuser" profile (Hastings & Hamberger, 1988).
Researchers have also emphasized the importance of traumatic childhood expe-
riences such as severe physical abuse in an effort to classify abusers. C. M. Murphy
Meyer, and O'Leary (1993) examined associations between family of origin vio-
lence, levels of current abusive behavior, and self-reports of psychopathology in a
clinical sample of male abusers. Compared to nonviolent men in discordant and
well-adjusted relationships, partner-assaultive men were significantly more likely to
report childhood histories of physical abuse and physical abuse of the mother in the
family of origin. When compared to batterers without such histories, those who
were severely abused in childhood displayed more evidence of psychopathology
on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II), and expressed higher
levels of aggression directed toward their current partner. These results suggest that
violence in the family of origin, in particular a history of severe childhood physical
abuse, can differentiate partner-assaultive men (C. M. Murphy et ai, 1993).
Literature on the legal attempts to punish perpetrators of domestic violence has
become more prevalent during the past 2 decades. Some of the legal responses
include an increased reliance on civil protection orders and numerous options for
prosecuting batterers, including, most notably, mandatory arrest. Police officers are
more likely to arrest the perpetrator when the victim is visibly injured or when there
is probable cause to believe a crime has been committed (Mills, 1996). Although
mandatory arrest tends to reduce domestic violence, abusers' high recidivism rates
continues to adversely affect the lives of many women.
Civil protection orders, which enjoin a batterer from further violence, may
curtail domestic violence. In most states, civil protection orders can be used either