The assessment of maritally violent men on the California Psychological Inventory

Violence Vict. 1992 Spring;7(1):15-28.

Abstract

This study assessed 87 maritally violent men (MV), 42 maritally nonviolent, maritally discordant men (NVD), and 48 maritally nonviolent, maritally satisfied men (NVS) on the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), a test of the normal personality. A MANOVA and subsequent range tests indicated that the NVD and NVS groups had significantly higher scores than the MV group on 10 of the 18 subscales: Responsibility, Socialization, Self-Control, Tolerance, Achievement via Conformance, Achievement via Independence, Good Impression, Intellectual Efficiency, and Psychological Mindedness. A discriminant analysis contrasting the MV group with the combined NVD and NVS group correctly classified 68% of the subjects and accounted for 20.94% of the variance between groups. Along with previous findings, the data indicated that maritally violent males exhibit different personality characteristics than maritally nonviolent men in three general areas: intimacy, impulsivity, and problem-solving skills. Many of these problem areas were significantly correlated with childhood violence experiences.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Abuse / psychology
  • Child of Impaired Parents / psychology
  • Gender Identity*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personality Assessment / statistics & numerical data*
  • Personality Development
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychometrics
  • Socialization
  • Spouse Abuse / psychology*
  • Violence*