To Örebro University

Background: Unlike traditional beliefs male intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators are a heterogeneous group of offenders and, thus, differ from each other in several important aspects. However, there is no agreed upon procedure for creating such typologies.

Objective: The aim of this presentation is to propose a typology of IPV perpetrators that can be practically useful for the police and other criminal justice professionals, in terms of risk assessment and management for future such violence.

Method: The results are based on (a) a sample of 628 male IPV perpetrators reported to the Swedish police for allegedly perpetrating IPV towards a current or former female partner, and (b) a systematic review of IPV perpetrator typology papers.

Results: The results of both the empirical data and the systematic review favor a two-subtype typology, consisting of a partner only violent subtype and a generally violent subtype (N = 301 and N = 327, respectively, in our empirical data). The subtypes differed on several behavioral and psychosocial risk factors, as well as in terms of IPV recidivism.

Discussion: The differences between the subtypes in our proposed typology are important to consider in terms of risk assessment and management of IPV. Thus, the generally violent subtype demonstrated more risk factors and higher recidivism rates than the partner only violent subtype. As such, identifying IPV perpetrators as either partner only violent or generally violent is an important first step in any IPV violence risk assessment. Subsequently, the risk management strategies that follow a risk assessment should be tailored to the specific subtype’s risk factors (needs). Policy implications of the proposed typology will be also discussed.

Conclusions: The results our research support the notion that IPV perpetrators should be considered as a heterogeneous group of offenders, although much valuable information and guidance in assessing risk and planning risk management strategies can be gained from differentiating between partner only violent and generally violent IPV perpetrators.