NCJ Number
218057
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 120-126
Date Published
2007
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study of primary care patients (n=52) examined the relationship between a history of domestic violence (measured with the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale [SVAWS]) and borderline personality symptomatology (measured with the Self-Harm Inventory [SHI] and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 [PDQ-4]).
Abstract
This study of mostly married, well-educated women in an outpatient primary care setting found that their scores on two measures of borderline personality significantly and positively correlated with a reported history of domestic violence. Further, those with a history of domestic violence had a significantly greater likelihood of a diagnostic score on either or both measures of borderline personality symptomatology (BPS) compared with women with no history of domestic violence. Using diagnostic cutoff scores on the measures for borderline personality, 64.0 percent of those with histories of domestic violence scored in the positive range on either or both measures; only 11.1 percent of nonabused women had such scores. The researchers recommend the evaluation of BPS for victims of intimate-partner violence, using self-report tools such as the PDQ-4 and the SHI. If BPD is diagnosed, a protracted period of psychological treatment should focus on attachment and relationship issues. The research booklet completed by the women solicited demographic information and contained the three instruments used in measuring domestic violence and BPS. 29 references