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Male Batterers With and Without Psychopathy

An Exploratory Study in Spanish Prisons

University of the Basque Country, San Sebastián, Spain, enrique.echeburua{at}ehu.es

Javier Fernández-Montalvo

Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain

The aim of this study was to analyze the differential profile of male batterers in prison with and without psychopathy. The sample consisted of 162 perpetrators sentenced for a serious offence against their intimate partner. The prevalence of psychopathy or psychopathic traits, established according to the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised, was about 12%. The psychopathic batterers were younger, more impulsive, more suspicious, and less empathetic and had lower self-esteem than nonpsychopathic batterers. However, the psychopathic batterers were not engaged in intimate femicide more often than were the nonpsychopathic batterers. The severity of the crime was similar in both groups, so it may be attributed to other variables (e.g., substance abuse, intoxication at the time of the offence, violence history, jealousy, etc.). Implications of these results for further research and clinical practice are discussed.

Key Words: male batterers • psychopathy • prison • femicide

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