Psychopathy, Stake in Conformity, and Ethnicity: Differentiating Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence from Other Criminal Offender

Research indicates that a subtype of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators, typically referred to as Generally Violent Antisocial (GVA) perpetrators, exhibits multiple features that are associated with psychopathy (Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, 1994; Huss & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 2006). The few studies that have investigated the relationship between psychopathy and type of IPV perpetrator (Cunha & Goncalves, 2013; Huss & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 2006; Walsh et al., 2010) have produced mixed results. This study used a sample of 453 county jail inmates, variable-centered analyses were used to examine relationships between levels of psychopathy and psychopathy features based on engagement in IPV and in violence towards non-partners (NPV, non-partner violence). Person-centered analyses were used to investigate differences in levels of psychopathy and features of psychopathy between specific subgroups of criminal offenders (i.e., those who are violent towards only partners (Partner Only, PO); violent towards partners and non-partners (Generally Violent, GV); violent towards only non-partners (Other Violent, OV); and nonviolent (Nonviolent, NV)). This study also investigated if an individual's stake in conformity was related to overall psychopathy and psychopathic traits. With respect to variable-centered analyses, findings indicated that engaging in IPV or NPV was related to increases in overall psychopathy and antisocial features of psychopathy; however, engaging in IPV was also related to higher levels of affective features. Person-centered results indicated that there were differences between offender subgroups on overall levels of psychopathy as well as elevations in affective and antisocial features of psychopathy. This study also found that, in general, IPV was related to a greater mean level of stake in conformity, but there was no relationship between NPV and stake in conformity. Person-centered findings revealed that PO perpetrators had greater stake in conformity scores than both OV and NV offenders; however, there was no difference observed between PO and GV offenders. Higher levels of psychopathy were related to a lower mean level of stake in conformity. The findings of this study indicate that higher levels of affective and lifestyle traits of psychopathy were related to lower mean levels of stake in conformity, whereas higher levels of interpersonal features were related to higher levels of stake in conformity. Finally, supplementary analyses indicated that ethnicity was related to some components of psychopathy and stake in conformity; however, most of the relationships found in this study generalized across ethnicity. These findings are discussed in terms of mechanisms underlying IPV and their impact on evaluation and treatment of violence within intimate relationships.