This study examined whether a typology of perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) could be replicated in a Dutch sample ( N = 154) of self-referred IPV perpetrators using a structured risk assessment tool for relational violence (Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk [B-SAFER]). Our findings support the previous IPV perpetrator subtypes: low-level antisocial (LLA), family only (FO), psychopathology (PP), and generally violent/antisocial (GVA). The subtypes differed on the descriptive dimensions general criminality, substance use, and mental health problems. The prevalence rates for each subtype were roughly comparable with those in previous studies. Contrary to expectation, the prevalence of the GVA subtype was relatively high in our self-referred sample compared with court-referred samples. Our findings suggest that structured risk assessment should be an integral part of the intake procedure for IPV perpetrators entering treatment, to assess their level of risk and to arrive at a tailored risk management strategy, regardless of setting or referral source.

We investigated the validity of theory driven profile interpretation of the MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) Dutch Short Form (DSFM; Eurelings-Bontekoe, Onnink, Williams, & Snellen, 2008) as a measure of personality organization (PO) in a naturalistic follow-up study among 576 psychiatric outpatients receiving brief cognitive behavioral group therapy. Results showed that this assessment method was useful in predicting dropout as well as treatment response. Patients with a latent psychotic PO profile and a manifest low-level borderline organization profile were 3 times more likely to drop out than patients with other PO profiles. Patients with a latent psychotic PO profile who continued treatment had deteriorated at 4-month follow-up. Patients with a manifest low-level borderline PO profile who remained in treatment, however, showed considerable therapeutic progress. We conclude that theory driven profile interpretation of the DSFM as an assessment of PO may be useful in predicting dropout and treatment response to cognitive behavioral treatment of Axis I disorders.

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