Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T01:13:49.765Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Early Maladaptive Schemas and Personality Disorder Traits in Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2014

Carmen Corral  and
Esther Calvete
Carmen Corral
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Esther Calvete*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Esther Calvete. Universidad de Deusto. Department of Psychology. Apdo. 1. 48080. Bilbao (Spain). Phone: 34–944139000 (Ext. 2847). Fax: 34–944139089. E-mail: esther.calvete@deusto.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Personality disorders (PDs) are highly prevalent among perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). Schema Therapy proposes a number of early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) that are involved in the development of PDs. This study examined the prevalence of PD traits in a sample of men who committed violence against their partners and the relationship between EMSs domains and PD traits. With this aim, a sample of 119 convicted men completed the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF; Young & Brown, 1994) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III; Millon, Millon, & Davis, 1994). The results showed that the most prevalent PD traits were narcissistic (24.6%), obsessive-compulsive (21.9%), and paranoid (17.5%). These PD traits were linked to several EMSs in ways consistent with the Schema Therapy model. Namely, narcissistic PD traits were positively associated with schemas of the impaired limits domain and were negatively associated with the other-directedness domain. The paranoid PD traits were associated with the disconnection and rejection domain and the impaired autonomy and performance domain. Finally, both borderline and antisocial PD traits were associated with the disconnection and rejection domain and the impaired limits domain. These findings suggest that the assessment and modification of EMSs should be a factor to consider for inclusion in the treatment programs for perpetrators of IPV in order to provide comprehensive intervention of this population.

Keywords

early maladaptive schemasschema therapypersonality disordersintimate partner violenceperpetrators intimate partner violence
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 17 , 2014 , E1
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4 th Ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349 Google Scholar
Arntz, A., & Genderen, H. V. (2009). Schema therapy for borderline personality disorders. Chichester, UK: Wiley–Blackwell.Google Scholar
Babcock, J. C., Green, C. E., & Robie, C. (2004). Does batterers’ treatment work? A meta-analytic review of domestic violence treatment. Clinical Psychology Review 23, 1023–1053. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2002.07.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, S. A., & Cecero, J. J. (2001). Addicted patients with personality disorders: Traits, schemas, and presenting problems. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15, 72–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.15.1.72.18642 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, R. F., Bushman, B. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2000). Self-esteem, narcissism, and aggression: Does violence result from low self-esteem or from threatened egotism? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 26–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00053 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A. T. (1999). Prisoners of hate: The cognitive basis of anger, hostility, and violence. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Freeman, A., & Davis, D. D. (2004). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders (2 nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bernstein, D. P. (2010, July). Treating the untreatable: Schema Focused Therapy for high scoring psychopaths. Paper session presented at the International Society of Schema Therapy Conference, Berlin.Google Scholar
Bernstein, D. P., & Useda, J. D. (2007). Paranoid personality disorder. In Lilienfeld, S. O. (Ed.), Personality disorders: Toward the DSM-V. (pp. 41–62). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bushman, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (1998). Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 219–229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.219 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calvete, E. (2008). Justification of violence and grandiosity schemas as predictors of antisocial behavior in adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1083–1095. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9229-5 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calvete, E., Estévez, A., López de Arroyabe, E., & Ruiz, P. (2005). The schema questionnaire-short form: Structure and relationship with automatic thoughts and symptoms of affective disorders. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 21, 90–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.21.2.90 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calvete, E., Orue, I., & González-Díez, Z. (2013). An examination of the structure and stability of early maladaptive schemas by means of the Young Schema Questionnaire-3. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 29, 283–290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000158 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardenal, V., & Sánchez, M. P. (2007). Adaptación y baremación al español del Inventario Clínico Multiaxial de Millon-III (MCMI–III).[Spanish adaptation and scaling of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI–III)] . Madrid, Spain: Tea Ediciones.Google Scholar
Carr, S. N., & Francis, A. J. (2010). Early maladaptive schemas and personality disorder symptoms: An examination in a non-clinical sample. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 83, 333–349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/147608309X481351 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, K. A., O’Leary, K. D., & Heyman, R. E. (2001). Categorizing partner-violent men within the reactive-proactive typology model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 567–572. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.69.3.567 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craig, R. J. (1999). Overview and current status of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 72, 390–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JP720305 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, R. J. (2008). Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory-III. In Archer, R. P. & Smith, S. R. (Eds.), Personality Assessment (pp. 133–166). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis Group.Google Scholar
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. New York, NY: A. de Gruyter.Google ScholarPubMed
Dutton, D. G. (1986). Wife assaulter’s explanations for assault: The neutralization of self-punishment. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 18, 381–390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0079964 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutton, D. G. (1988). Profiling of wife assaulters: Preliminary evidence for a trimodal analysis. Violence and Victims, 3, 5–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dutton, D. G. (2007). The abusive personality: Violence and control in intimate relationships (2 nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrell, J. M., Shaw, I. A., & Webber, M. A. (2009). A schema-focused approach to group psychotherapy for outpatients with borderline personality disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 40, 317–328. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2009.01.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feder, L., & Wilson, D. (2005). A meta-analytic review of court-mandated batterer intervention programs: Can courts affect abusers’ behavior? Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1, 239–262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11292-005-1179-0 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández-Montalvo, J., & Echeburúa, E. (2008). Trastornos de personalidad y psicopatía en hombres condenados por violencia grave contra la pareja. [Personality disorders and psychopathy in men convicted for severe intimate partner violence]. Psicothema, 20, 193–198.Google Scholar
Fite, P. J., Raine, A., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., & Pardini, D. A. (2010). Reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent males: Examining differential outcomes 10 years later in early adulthood. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 141–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854809353051 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giesen-Bloo, J., van Dyck, R., Spinhoven, P., van Tilburg, W., Dirksen, C., van Asselt, T., … Arntz, A. (2006). Outpatient psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder: Randomized trial of Schema-focused therapy vs. transference-focused psychotherapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 649–658. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.6.649 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gondolf, E. W. (1999). MCMI-III results for batterer program participants in four cities: Less “pathological” than expected. Journal of Family Violence, 14, 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022843324943 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gude, T., Hoffart, A., Hedley, L., & Rø, Ø. (2004). The dimensionality of dependent personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18, 604–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.18.6.604.54793 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halvorsen, M., Wang, C. E., Eisemann, M., & Waterloo, K. (2010). Dysfunctional attitudes and early maladaptive schemas as predictors of depression: A 9-year follow-up study. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 34, 368–379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9259-5 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamberger, L. K., & Hastings, J. E. (1988). Characteristics of male spouse abusers consistent with personality disorders. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 39, 763–770.Google ScholarPubMed
Hart, S. D., Dutton, D. G., & Newlove, T. (1993). The prevalence of personality disorder among wife assaulters. Journal of Personality Disorders, 7, 329–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1993.7.4.329 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henning, K., & Holdford, R. (2006). Minimization, denial, and victim blaming by batterers: How much does the truth matter? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33, 110–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093854805282322 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henning, K., Jones, A., & Holdford, R. (2005). “I didn’t do it, but if I did I had a good reason”: Minimization, denial, and attributions of blame among male and female domestic violence offenders. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 131–139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-3647-8 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holtzworth-Munroe, A., & Anglin, K. (1991). The competency of responses given by maritally violent versus nonviolent men to problematic marital situations. Violence and Victims, 6, 257–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holtzworth-Munroe, A., & Hutchinson, G. (1993). Attributing negative intent to wife behavior: The attributions of maritally violent versus nonviolent men. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 206–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.102.2.206 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holtzworth-Munroe, A., & Stuart, G. L. (1994). Typologies of male batterers: Three subtypes and the differences among them. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 476–497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.476 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R., Gilchrist, E., Beech, A. R., Weston, S., Takriti, R., & Freeman, R. (2006). A psychometric typology of U.K. domestic violence offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1270–1285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260506291655 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (2006). LISREL 8.8 for Windows. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International, Inc Google Scholar
Jovev, M., & Jackson, H. J. (2004). Early maladaptive schemas in personality disordered individuals. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18, 467–478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.18.5.467.51325 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kriston, L., Schäfer, J., von Wolff, A., Härter, M., & Hölzel, L. P. (2012). The latent factor structure of Young’s early maladaptive schemas: Are schemas organized into domains? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68, 684–698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21846 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Huss, M. T., & Ramsey, S. (2000). The clinical utility of batterer typologies. Journal of Family Violence, 15, 37–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007597319826 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, T. D., Slegers, D. W., & Card, N. A. (2006). A non-arbitrary method of identifying and scaling latent variables in SEM and MACS models. Structural Equation Modelling, 13, 59–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1301_3 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loinaz, I. (2009). Aproximación teórica y empírica al estudio de las tipologías de agresores de pareja: Análisis descriptivo de variables e instrumentos de evaluación en el centro penitenciario Brians-2. [Theoretical and empirical approach to the study of partner-violent men typologies] . Madrid, Spain: Ministerio del Interior.Google Scholar
Loper, A. B. (2003). The relationship of maladaptive beliefs to personality and behavioral adjustment among incarcerated women. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 17, 253–266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/jcop.17.3.253.52533 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGinn, L. K., & Young, J. E. (1996). Schema-focused therapy. In Salkovskis, P. M. (Ed.), Frontiers of cognitive therapy (pp. 182–207). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Millon, T., Millon, C., & Davis, R. (1994). Millon clinical multiaxial inventory-III (MCMI-III) manual. Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.Google Scholar
Nordahl, H. M., Holthe, H., & Haugum, J. A. (2005). Early maladaptive schemas in patients with or without personality disorders: Does schema modification predict symptomatic relief? Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 12, 142–149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cpp.430 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordahl, H. M., & Nysæter, T. E. (2005). Schema therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder: A single case series. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 36, 254–264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2005.05.007 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petrocelli, J. V., Glaser, B. A., Calhoun, G. B., & Campbell, L. F. (2001). Early maladaptive schemas of personality disorder subtypes. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15, 546–559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/pedi.15.6.546.19189 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pretzer, J. L. (1988). Paranoid personality disorder: A cognitive view. International Cognitive Therapy Newsletter, 4, 10–12.Google Scholar
Rafaeli, E., Bernstein, D. P., & Young, J. E. (2011). Schema therapy: Distinctive features. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Reeves, M., & Taylor, J. (2007). Specific relationships between core beliefs and personality disorder symptoms in a non-clinical sample. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 14, 96–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cpp.519 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, D. G. (1992). A typology of men who batter: Three types derived from cluster analysis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62, 264–275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0079333 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, N. B. (1994). The schema questionnaire and the schema avoidance questionnaire. Behavior Therapist, 17, 90–92.Google Scholar
Segal, Z. V. (1988). Appraisal of the self-schema construct in cognitive models of depression. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 147–162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.147 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, D. (1965). Neurotic styles. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Shields, N. M., & Hanneke, C. R. (1983). Attribution processes in violent relationships: Perceptions of violent husbands and their wives. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13, 515–527. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1983.tb02334.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sines, J., Waller, G., Meyer, C., & Wigley, L. (2008). Core beliefs and narcissistic characteristics among eating-disordered and non-clinical women. Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 81, 121–129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/147608307X267496 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Straus, M. A, Hamby, S., Boney-Mccoy, S., & Sugarman, D. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/019251396017003001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sperry, L. (2003). Handbook of diagnosis and treatment of DSM-IV-TR personality disorders. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.Google Scholar
Tolman, R., & Edleson, J. (1995). Intervention for men who batter: A review of research. In Stith, S. & Straus, M. (Eds.), Understanding partner violence: Prevalence, causes, consequences and solutions (pp. 262–273). Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.Google Scholar
Tweed, R. G., & Dutton, D. G. (1998). A comparison of impulsive and instrumental subgroups of batterers. Violence and Victims, 13, 217–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
White, R. J., & Gondolf, E. W. (2000). Implications of personality profiles for batterer treatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 467–488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626000015005002 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widiger, T. A., & Samuel, D. B. (2005). Evidence-based assessment of personality disorders. Psychological Assessment, 17, 278–287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.17.3.278 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, J. E. (1999). Cognitive therapy for personality disorders: A schema-focused approach (3 rd Ed.). Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.Google Scholar
Young, J. E., & Brown, G. (1994). Young schema questionnaire-S1. New York, NY: Cognitive Therapy Center.Google Scholar
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar