THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN TYPE-1 AND TYPE-2 BATTERERS - FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS - REPLY TO ORNDUFF ET-AL (1995), MARGOLIN ET-AL (1995), AND WALKER (1995)

The authors address three comments on J. M. Gottman et al. (1995). The authors' Type 1 batterers engage in more severe violence than Type 2 batterers. Type 2 batterers are more likely to have witnessed unilateral husband-to-wife violence in their families of origin. The greater emotional abuse in Type 1 batterers is a robust finding. At certain critical moments of conflict interaction, Type 1 batterers' heart rates do indeed decrease, whereas Type 2s' increase. Type 1s may be vagal reactors (i.e., the heart rate reduction may be parasympathetically driven). Moreover, heart rate deceleration in Type 1s functions to focus their attention. Despite correlations involving physiological reactivity, no empirical finding could in any way exonerate batterers from moral responsibility. Finally, the authors discuss the political, clinical, and research implications of their work.