NCJ Number
143740
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: May 1993 Pages: 26-28
Date Published
May 1993
Length
3 pages
Annotation
To identify risk factors for domestic assault, the institutional files of almost 600 male inmates in seven Federal correctional facilities in Canada were reviewed.
Abstract
Three groups of offenders were identified: nonviolent offenders who had no indication of violent behavior anywhere in their file; stranger-violent offenders, who had histories of assault on file but no indication of violence toward their wives or other family members, and family-violent offenders, the majority of whom had also assaulted nonfamily members. Analysis of the offenders' childhood abuse history revealed significant differences among the three groups. The nonviolent group had the least amount of victimization through child abuse, the stranger-violent group had a moderate amount, and the family-violent group were most likely to have been abused. When more specific types of abuse (physical, sexual, and witnessing abuse) were examined, similar differences were found. The groups also differed in psychiatric disorders, with family-violent group more likely to have nonpsychopathic types of personality disorders (e.g., borderline or narcissistic personalities). Findings indicate that the family-violent offenders require a transitional form of anger management treatment with a special emphasis on marital and family relations. Results also indicated that males abused as children are at a higher risk for violent crime than are nonabused males. Figures and footnotes