The Psychology of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse

Traditionally, many considered that intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) constituted only physical and sexual violence, although it is now understood that partner violence includes psychological/emotional abuse, and controlling behaviors (i.e., economic abuse, coercion as well as physical and sexual abuse), all of which have a severe impact on victims. Although there is a relative abundance of prevalence data concerning IPVA in general population samples, considerably less is known about the prevalence of IPVA victimization among corrections populations, despite the fact that many of the risk factors for criminality in general are also risk factors for IPVA victimization and perpetration. The four main types of IPVA that have been identified are: intimate terrorism (IT); violent resistance (VR); situational couple violence (SCV); and mutual violent control (MVC). Desistance is associated with less severe and frequent violence in relationships. Individual characteristics distinguish desisters from persisters.