Examining Positive and Negative Reactions and Conciliatory Behaviors After Partner Violence Perpetration

This study investigated positive and negative reactions and conciliatory behaviors after perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). The goals were to examine the rates of these reactions and their associations with key attitudinal and personality factors. During program intake at a community agency, 172 partner violent men completed assessments of positive reactions (e.g., feeling justified) and negative reactions (e.g., feeling ashamed) after IPV, conciliatory behaviors after IPV (e.g., buying flowers for the partner), frequency of physical assault and abuse perpetration, and motivational readiness to change. In addition, a subset of participants ( n = 64-71) completed assessments of outcome expectancies of IPV and borderline, antisocial, and psychopathic personality characteristics. The vast majority of participants (89.8%) reported negative reaction(s) after IPV; 32.7% reported positive reaction(s), and 67.5% reported conciliatory behavior(s). Positive reactions after IPV were associated with positive outcome expectancies of IPV, more frequent abuse perpetration, and antisocial features. Negative reactions after IPV were associated with greater motivation to change, more frequent abuse perpetration, and borderline features, and were inversely linked to psychopathic traits. Conciliatory behaviors were associated with motivation to change, borderline characteristics, and lower levels of psychopathic traits. Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to IPV may be important for stimulating clinical discussion of motivations and barriers to change, and can inform the functional analysis of IPV.