ABSTRACT
As research regarding male perpetrators of domestic violence progresses, investigators have become increasingly aware of the extent and nature of the heterogeneity of this group (Dutton, 1995, 1998a; Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, 1994). Although scholars vary with respect to the labeling of male batterer subgroups, there is fair consistency in the personality traits, pathology, and battering patterns that define these subgroups (see Dutton 1998a; Huss & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 2000; Tweed & Dutton, 1998, for reviews). One of these subgroups is known as the generally violent/antisocial. Despite striking similarities between the generally violent/antisocial batterers and men with psychopathic personality disorder, comprehensive assessments of psychopathy have yet to be integrated into the study or treatment of spousal batterers to any great extent. Instead, research has tended to rely on diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder (APD) rather than on validated forensic assessments such as the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL– R; Hare, 1991, 2003; Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995).
