Most studies examining couple agreement on intimate partner violence (IPV) have found low agreement on levels of violence. This study explored agreement on male-perpetrated IPV in a sample of 93 couples where the man was voluntarily seeking IPV treatment. Five different types of violence were assessed: physical, physically controlling, psychological, property, and sexual. The results were mixed. When disagreement was found, this resulted from men attending IPV treatment reporting less violence than their partners. However, only psychological violence was consistently reported differently. Reliability estimates ranged from poor to moderate. Couples reported on sexual violence with less reliability than physical or physically controlling violence when referring to a typical month last year. Measurement of different types of violence among both partners in a couple is recommended in clinical and research settings as well as thorough discussions with clients voluntarily enrolled in treatment for IPV on what constitutes violence.

ObjectivesAlthough violent behaviour and psychopathology often co-occur, there has been little research on psychiatric disorders among men in treatment for intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to examine the prevalence of a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders among men voluntarily attending treatment for IPV.Setting5 clinics for IPV treatment, located in the east, south and west of Norway, participated in the study. In a cross-sectional design, men attending therapy for violence against a partner went through a face-to-face structured diagnostic interview, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.Participants222 men contacted the clinic during the inclusion period; 12 men did not attend and 13 men were referred to outpatient clinics. Of the 197 men who were offered therapy, 13 did not provide consent to participate in the study, 2 were excluded and 3 men missed the interview.ResultsA total of 179 men participated in the study. The majority were ethnic Norwegians (88%). A total of 70.9% of the men fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for at least one ongoing psychiatric disorder. Three categories of disorders stood out with approximately equal prevalences: depressive disorders (40.6%), anxiety disorders (38.5%) including post-traumatic stress disorder (18.4%) and alcohol/substance abuse (40.2%). Antisocial personality disorder was present in approximately 2/10 participants. Comorbidity was high, with nearly half of the men (48.0%) assigned two or more diagnoses.ConclusionsMen voluntarily admitted to treatment for IPV harbour a wide spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Our findings suggest a need for screening procedures for psychiatric disorders as well as adoption of treatment interventions according to different types of psychopathologies and therapeutic needs. Limitations include caution in terms of generalisation to other populations not voluntarily admitted to treatment for IPV, and risk of ignoring symptoms not covered by a clinical structured interview.

Men who use intimate partner violence (IPV) often have challenges as caregivers such as poor understanding of children's needs and emotions. There is little knowledge regarding their everyday-life experiences of being a parent. We interviewed 14 men in therapy for intimate partner violence on how they experienced their relationship to one of their children (mean age 4,5 years). We performed a descriptive phenomenological analysis. Informants seldom explored their children's experience. They found that their fathering was influenced by past relationships and negative expectations for the future. The informants' bodily experience of emotional arousal was described as difficult to control and understand and was a limited source for meaning making in the fatherchild relationship. The experience of being a good father was connected to presence and control of the child's behavior. Informants felt that what they experienced as good parenting lacked others' recognition. Interventions for partner-abusive men should address their fathering and focus on fathers' life-experience and context as influencing their fathering. Therapeutic interventions should strengthen partner-abusive fathers' awareness of and meaning making from their emotional arousal. Where safety permits, dyadic interventions aiming at re-establishing the child's experience of safety in the father-child relationship should be considered by therapy providers as a complement to established interventions with partner-abusive men.

The authors addressed the associations between childhood and adolescence victimization and partner violence in adulthood. Data were collected on 480 men voluntarily attending therapy with a semistructured interview that assessed (a) violent behavior, categorized as physical violence, physical controlling behavior, property violence, psychologically controlling behavior, psychological degradation, indirect aggression, or sexual violence and (b) victim experiences during childhood or adolescence, categorized as physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, or exposure to violence between family members. Prior victim experiences of family violence were reported by 60% of participants. Regression analyses showed that past victim experiences, especially physical abuse, was associated with adult violence (p < .05). Specifically, physical abuse was associated with psychologically controlling behavior (p < .05) and sexual abuse with sexual violence (p < .05).

This study investigated psychotherapy dropout rates and predictors of dropping out of therapy early. We enrolled 1,166 men voluntarily admitted to psychotherapy for violent behavior against a female partner. In total, 315 (23.8%) subjects dropped out of therapy within the first 3 sessions. Dropouts were significantly younger, more likely to have a non-Norwegian ethnic background, less likely to have received previous mental health care, and were more likely to have been treated by a student therapist. Among those treated by a student therapist, unemployment was strongly associated with early dropout. Unadjusted and adjusted results were similar. Clients and therapists may benefit by matching unemployed men with experienced therapists. Finally, the high dropout rates among ethnically non-Norwegian clients points to a need for special treatment approaches for this subgroup.