An exploration of intimate partner violence among patients with dissociative disorders

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2015-09-23

Department

Towson University. Department of Psychology

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Copyright protected, all rights reserved.
There are no restrictions on access to this document. An internet release form signed by the author to display this document online is on file with Towson University Special Collections and Archives.

Subjects

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment (CM) and dissociation are noted risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) in adulthood. Patients diagnosed with complex dissociative disorders (DDs) are at the intersection of these two risk factors, and likely to experience IPV, but few studies have explored IPV within the DD population. The present study examined IPV among DD patients in a longitudinal educational intervention study. Clinicians reported on patients' lifetime rates of adult physical, emotional, and sexual IPV as both victims and perpetrators, and patients' childhood family dynamics. Patients reported on their IPV and dissociative symptoms occurring while perpetrating IPV. Analyses revealed that patient-reported dissociative symptoms accurately predicted which patients had a history of clinician-reported physical IPV, and dissociative symptoms were significantly correlated with dissociative violence. In addition, patients with clinician-reported IPV had significantly worse childhood family dynamics. The present study's contributions to the literature, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.