ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the international evidence to discern how intimate partner aggression should be defined and theoretically approached before comparing conceptualisations with the research evidence on risk factors and heterogeneity of perpetrators. It discusses the relevance of this research evidence for the assessment and treatment of perpetrators. The chapter highlights the disconnection between the evidence and practice before considering what practice would look like if informed by this evidence. The evidence suggests that men and women may perpetrate or be victims of partner aggression; patterns of aggression vary; a wide variety of factors at different levels increase the likelihood of intimate partner aggression; and perpetrators are a heterogeneous group that differ in risk level. In essence, theories are conceptual structures developed to explain why phenomena exist and persist and are important in understanding problems such as intimate partner aggression because they guide the process that can reduce the problem.
