Trauma symptoms and PTSD-like profiles in perpetrators of intimate abuse

Abstract

The presence of chronic trauma symptoms and similarity to a specific profile for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed in a group 132 wife assaultive men and 44 demographically matched controls. Men who committed intimate abuse experienced more chronic trauma symptoms than nonabusive controls. A composite profile on the MCMI-II for wife assaulters demonstrated peaks on 82C (negative/avoidant/borderline), as have two independent studies of the profile of men diagnosed with PTSD. However, the assaultive population had higher scores on the antisocial personality scale and lower scores on anxiety and dysthymia. This PTSD-like profile on the MCMI-II was associated significantly with more frequent anger and emotional abuse of the subject's partner. The trauma origin for these men may have been parental treatment: experiencing frequent trauma symptoms as an adult was significantly related to negative recollections of parental treatment, specifically parental coldness/rejection and physical abuse.