Psychopathy Facets and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization

While research has demonstrated the relationship between psychopathy and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, evidence is mixed regarding how psychopathy facets relate to different forms of IPV perpetration. Literature has also underexplored how psychopathy relates to IPV victimization. To address these gaps, we investigated specificity in relationships between four psychopathy facets (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) and three types of IPV perpetration and victimization experiences (physical, psychological, sexual) across three samples. Zero-order correlations and regressions were conducted separately, followed by z tests synthesizing the results. Across samples, correlations revealed small-to-moderate relationships between psychopathy facets and IPVs while multiple regressions revealed minimal-to-small unique effects of the facets. Findings highlight (a) that the lifestyle facet demonstrated the most consistent correlations with IPV experiences across samples while the other facets showed sample-specific relationships, and (b) that the limited unique effects of psychopathy facets implicate what they have in common as relevant to IPV experiences.