Exploring the Roles of Attachment, Trauma, and Personality Factors on Therapeutic Goals Achievement among Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

PurposeMen are recognized as the main perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV), a major public health issue. Therapies for IPV perpetrators are often seen as ineffective, likely because therapeutic goals are not fully achieved by the end of therapy. Assessing the level of therapeutic goals achievement may provide a more accurate understanding of therapy effectiveness. Also, identifying which perpetrators struggle to achieve these goals could help target factors interfering with therapy response. This study's aim was to explore the links between three individual factors (attachment insecurities, childhood interpersonal traumas [CIT], and undesirable personality traits) and the achievement of four therapeutic goals (i.e. recognizing one's violent behavior, taking responsibility, choosing nonviolence, and adopting nonviolent strategies).MethodsA sample of 318 adults entering IPV therapy in specialized organizations completed validated questionnaires measuring romantic attachment, CIT, and undesirable personality traits. Upon termination, their therapists completed a questionnaire assessing their perception of therapeutic goals achievement.ResultsResults from hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for the number of completed therapy sessions and court-ordered referral, revealed that individuals with higher psychopathic traits were less likely to achieve the goal of choosing nonviolence, while higher narcissistic traits were linked to reduced adoption of nonviolent strategies. Moreover, participants who had cumulative CIT were less likely to take responsibility for their violent behaviors.ConclusionsClinical implications are discussed regarding the importance of addressing power dynamics in individuals with narcissistic traits and helping perpetrators with psychopathic traits develop better self-regulation skills to adopt nonviolent behaviors.