Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Personality Traits, Personality Disorders, and Aggression: A Comparison of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Intimate-Partner Aggression

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Basic personality traits and clinical personality disorders have been studied in the context of a wide range of behaviors, including antisocial behavior and aggression. Although the five-factor model (FFM) has been examined in relation to several types of non-partner aggression, relatively few studies have assessed the relations between FFM traits and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Additionally, no studies have directly compared these types of aggression in terms of their personality trait profiles despite some evidence that their trait profiles may differ. In the present study, a total of 307 participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), completed a number of questionnaires assessing personality traits, PD symptoms, and various types of aggressive and antisocial behavior. Findings suggest that traits related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness generally demonstrated the strongest and most consistent (negative) relations across all measures of aggression and antisocial behavior; however, Neuroticism-related traits also demonstrated moderate (positive) correlations with certain types of aggression. Consistent with previous literature, symptoms of almost every PD predicted aggressive and antisocial behavior. Although ASPD and BPD were two of the most robust PD symptom correlates across aggression and antisocial behavior outcomes, they were not always the strongest PD symptom correlate for each behavior. Personality profiles were moderately similar across aggression subtypes, but some showed more convergence than others. The findings suggest potential points of overlap for the individual differences that contribute to various types of aggression, while also highlighting ways in which IPV may be a more reactive form of aggression characterized by neuroticism-related traits.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Because the symptoms were assessed using a screener questionnaire, which is not appropriate for making diagnoses, the terms “PD symptoms” and “PD symptom counts,” rather than “PDs,” will be used throughout the paper.

  2. Although Cronbach’s alpha coefficient served as an indicator of reliability for the CAB, this may not be the most appropriate reliability index for this type of scale (i.e., a frequency count of a variety of behaviors). For such a scale, we would expect that test–retest reliability would be a more appropriate reliability index; however, this data was not collected as part of the present study. The same may be the case for the CTS2; however, past assessments of its psychometric properties have utilized Cronbach’s alphas as reliability estimates (Straus et al., 1996).

References

  • Al-Dajani, N., Gralnick, T. M., & Bagby, R. M. (2016). A psychometric review of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5): Current status and future directions. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98(1), 62–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, A., & Links, P. S. (2012). Aggression in borderline personality disorder: evidence for increased risk and clinical predictors. Current Psychiatry Reports, 14(1), 62–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-011-0244-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, J. J., Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2018). The General Aggression Model. Current Opinion in Psychology, 19, 75–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C., & Bushman, B. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, K. M., & Naugle, A. E. (2008). Intimate partner violence theoretical considerations: Moving towards a contextual framework. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 1096–1107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231–280.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Understanding intimate partner violence: Fact sheet. Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv_factsheet2012-a.pdf).

  • Collison, K. L., & Lynam, D. R. (2021). Personality disorders as predictors of intimate partner violence: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 88, 102047.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collison, K. L., Miller, J. D., Gaughan, E. T., Widiger, T. A., & Lynam, D. R. (2016). Development and validation of the super-short form of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment. Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 143–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuenca, M. L., Graña, J. L., & Redondo, N. (2015). Differences in prevalence of partner aggression as the revised conflict tactics scale: Individual and dyadic report. Behavioral Psychology, 23, 127–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWall, C. N., Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). The general aggression model: Theoretical extensions to violence. Psychology of Violence, 1, 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Digman, J. M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41, 417–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1987). Social-information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children’s peer groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1146–1158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dowgwillo, E. A., Ménard, K. S., Krueger, R. F., & Pincus, A. L. (2016). DSM-5 pathological personality traits and intimate partner violence among male and female college students. Violence and Victims, 31(3), 416–437.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dowling, N., Suomi, A., Jackson, A., Lavis, T., & Patford, J.,…& Abbott, M. (2016). Problem gambling and intimate partner violence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(1), 43–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckhardt, C. I., Parrott, D. J., & Sprunger, J. G. (2015). Mechanisms of Alcohol-Facilitated Intimate Partner Violence. Violence against Women, 21(8), 939–957.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Finkel, E. J. (2014). Chapter One: The I3 Model: Metatheory, theory, and evidence. In M. Zanna & J. Olson (Eds.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 49, (pp. 3–104).

  • Finkel, E., DeWall, C., Slotter, E., McNulty, J., Pond, R., & Atkins, D. (2012). Using I3 theory to clarify when dispositional aggressiveness predicts intimate partner violence perpetration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(3), 533–549.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • First, M. B., Gibbon, M., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2002). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders (SCID-II). American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Germans, S., Van Heck, G. L., & Hodiamont, P. P. (2012). Results of the search for personality disorder screening tools: Clinical implications. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 73(2), 165–173.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hellmuth, J. C., & McNulty, J. K. (2008). Neuroticism, marital violence, and the moderating role of stress and behavioral skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 166–180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holtzworth-Munroe, A., & Stuart, G. L. (1994). Typologies of male batterers: Three subtypes and the differences among them. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 476–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. E., Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2011). Personality, antisocial behavior, and aggression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(4), 329–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2011.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotov, R., Watson, D., Bagby, R. M., ... & Zimmerman, M. (2017). The hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology (HiTOP): A dimensional alternative to traditional nosologies. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126(4), 454–477.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. F., Derringer, J., Markon, K. E., Watson, D., & Skodol, A. E. (2012). Initial construction of a maladaptive personality trait model and inventory for DSM-5. Psychological Medicine, 42, 1879–1890.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. F., Hicks, B. M., Patrick, C. J., Carlson, S. R., Iacono, W. G., & McGue, M. (2002). Etiologic connections among substance dependence, antisocial behavior, and personality: Modeling the externalizing spectrum. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(3), 411–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. F., Hopwood, C. J., Wright, A. G. C., & Markon, K. E. (2014). DSM-5 and the path toward empirically based and clinically useful conceptualization of personality and psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 21, 245–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, E., Langer Zarling, A., & Orengo-Aguayo, R. (2014). ACTV (Achieving Change Through Values-based Behavior) – Facilitator manual. University of Iowa Foundation.

  • Lynam, D. R., & Widiger, T. A. (2001). Using the five-factor model to represent the DSM-IV personality disorders: An expert consensus approach. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 401–412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maples, J., Carter, N., Few, L., Crego, C., Gore, W., Samuel, D., Williamson, R., Lynam, D., Widiger, T., Markon, K., Krueger, R., & Miller, J. (2015). Testing whether the DSM-5 personality disorder trait model can be measured with a reduced set of items: An item response theory investigation of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5. Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 1195–1210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maples, J., Guan, A., Carter, N., & Miller, J. (2014). A test of the International Personality Item Pool representation of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and development of a 120-item IPIP-based measure of the Five-Factor Model. Psychological Assessment, 26, 1070–1084.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, A. D., Mattern, A. C., & Wong, J. D. (2020). Concordance of reports of intimate partner violence across partners and measures: The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder. Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191120911097

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., Costa, P. T., Del Pilar, G. H., Rolland, J.-P., & Parker, W. D. (1998). Cross-Cultural Assessment of the Five-Factor Model: The Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 29(1), 171–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mezzich, J. E., Kirmayer, L. J., Kleinman, A., & Manson, S. M. (1999). The place of culture in DSM-IV. The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 187(8), 457–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2003). Psychopathy and the Five Factor Model of Personality: A replication and extension. Journal of Personality Assessment, 81, 168–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Krueger, R. F., Caspi, A., & Fagan, J. (2000). Partner abuse and general crime: How are they the same? How are they different? Criminology, 38(1), 199–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro, O. E., & Sellbom, M. (2020). Elucidating the relationship between borderline personality disorder and intimate partner violence. Personality and Mental Health, 14(3), 284–303.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C. M., & Eckhardt, C. I. (2005). Treating the abusive partner: An individualized cognitive-behavioral approach. Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, K. D., & Williams, M. C. (2006). Agreement about acts of aggression in marriage. Family Psychology, 20, 656–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Presaghi, F., Manca, M., Rodriguez-Franco, L., & Curcio, G. (2015). A Questionnaire for the Assessment of Violent Behaviors in Young Couples: The Italian Version of Dating Violence Questionnaire (DVQ). PLoS ONE, 10(5), e0126089.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A., Dodge, K., Loeber, R., Gatzke-Kopp, L., Lynam, D., Reynolds, C., & ... Liu, J. (2006). The Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire: Differential correlates of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent boys. Aggressive Behavior, 32(2), 159–171.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schönbrodt, F. D., & Perugini, M. (2013). At what sample size do correlations stabilize? Journal of Research in Personality, 47(5), 609–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shorey, R., Brasfield, H., Febres, J., & Stuart, G. L. (2011). The association between impulsivity, trait anger, and the perpetration of intimate partner and general violence among women arrested for domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 2681–2697.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. S., Jarnecke, A. M., & South, S. C. (2020). Pathological personality, relationship satisfaction, and intimate partner aggression: Analyses using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, alternative model of personality disorder traits. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 11(6), 398–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South, S. C., Turkheimer, E., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2008). Personality disorder symptoms and marital functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 769–780.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, C., Mallory, A. B., Cafferky, B. M., Kimmes, J. G., Beck, A. R., & Stith, S. M. (2019). Mental health factors and intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Violence, 9(1), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiger, J. H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87(2), 245–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and Preliminary Psychometric Data. Journal of Family Issues, 17(3), 283–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulloa, E. C., Hammett, J. F., O’Neal, D. N., Lydston, E. E., & Leon Aramburo, L. F. (2016). The Big Five personality traits and intimate partner violence: Findings from a large, nationally representative sample. Violence and Victims, 31(6), 1100–1115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Varley Thornton, A. J., Graham-Kevan, N., & Archer, J. (2010). Adaptive and maladaptive personality traits as predictors of violent and nonviolent offending behavior in men and women. Aggressive Behavior, 36(3), 177–186.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vize, C. E., Collison, K. L., Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2019). Using Bayesian Methods to Update and Expand the Meta-analytic Evidence of the Five-Factor Model’s Relation to Antisocial Behavior. Clinical Psychology Review, 67, 61–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The authors declare that they did not receive any funding to conduct this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, 618 Library Place, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA

    Katherine L. Collison

  2. Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Donald R. Lynam

Authors
  1. Katherine L. Collison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donald R. Lynam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine L. Collison.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Purdue University Institutional Review Board (IRB #: IRB-2019–392).

Conflict of Interest

Katherine L. Collison and Donald R. Lynam declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix A Demographic Characteristics of Participants (N = 307)

 

Prevalence in sample

Gender

54.7% Female

Sexuality

91.5% Heterosexual

Ethnicity

 

Asian/Pacific Islander

6.8%

Black/African American

4.6%

Hispanic/Latino

3.9%

Native American/American Indian

1.0%

Other

1.6%

White

82.1%

Age, M(SD)

39.42 (11.69)

Relationship Status

91.9% Current Relationship

Education

89.3% Some College or More

Employment

82.4% Employed

Psychological IPV (Past Year)

79.4%

Physical IPV (Past Year)

15.3%

Arrest History

15.6%

Conviction History

9.1%

Psychotherapy History

36.2%

  1. IPV intimate partner violence

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Collison, K.L., Lynam, D.R. Personality Traits, Personality Disorders, and Aggression: A Comparison of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Intimate-Partner Aggression. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 45, 294–307 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-022-10001-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-022-10001-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation