Beyond power and control: Towards an understanding of partner abusive men

It is well known that children exposed to interparental aggression have serious adverse consequences both in childhood and in their adult intimate relationships. These include a host of emotional and behavioral problems, as well as an increased risk of perpetration, especially for males, in adulthood. However, with the exception of exposure to violence in the family of origin, developmental variables have generally escaped empirical scrutiny. This investigation explored the early childhood experiences of partner abusive men, with an emphasis on post-traumatic stress disorder and oppositional-defiant disorder. The results show that both were significantly associated with the severity and frequency of partner abuse. The findings confirmed the well-established relationship between growing up in a violent home and future perpetration but also suggested the importance of defects in the parent-child bond to the development of intimate partner violence. Batterers received significantly less love, and more punishment from their mothers, and less attention from their fathers, than did men in a general population comparison group. These results reinforce the importance of childhood experiences in the etiology of relationship aggression and also encourage us that early risk markers can be identified. This is an important preliminary step in the development of preventive interventions.