Personality Comparison between Lethal and Non-lethal Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators and Their Victims.

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and femicide (intimate partner femicide, IPF), as a worldwide phenomenon, cannot be explained in a simple way. From an ecological point of view, there are individual factors contemplated. In the current studies, we consider personality as an individual factor to clarify what differentiates a non-lethal IPVAW situation from a femicide. Study 1 was designed to investigate the accuracy with which trained interviewers judged the personality of a group of IPVAW perpetrators during an interview. The target sample of study 1 was composed of 293 males who after being interviewed completed a measure of personality assessing the "Big Three" model of personality. The interviewers performed fairly accurate judgements about the personality of the target participants. Study 2 shows the differences in personality, using Eysenck's personality model, between the IPF and IPVAW perpetrators and their victims. The total sample study 2 was formed of 551 participants distributed among IPF perpetrators, IPVAW perpetrators, and the victims of both groups. Differences in proportions were observed between both groups of perpetrators as well as between each group and their respective victims. With these findings, we propose personality as a femicide risk factor that should be taken into consideration by police officers and other practitioners when receiving an IPVAW report.

Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence and Intimate Partner Homicide: A Typology Based on Victimization Variables.

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and intimate partner homicide against women (IPHAW) are multidimensional phenomena. The aim of this study was to identify typologies of Spanish IPHAW and IPVAW victims, based on the differences between their characteristics and the determinants of aggression. The sample consisted of 381 cases from the Spanish Integral Monitoring System in Cases of Gender Violence. The instrument used was a semi-structured interview. Results showed differences between IPHAW and IPVAW victims, and latent class analysis suggested a three-profile solution: 1-fatal victims, with low neuroticism, low isolation, and feelings of loneliness, less reconciliation with the aggressor, lower perception of risk and low suicidal ideation; 2-non-fatal victims, with the loss of a loved one and the role of caregiver as stressors, low psychoticism and alcohol abuse, high feelings of loneliness, risk perception, and suicidal ideation; 3-mixed profile, with high neuroticism and psychoticism, alcohol abuse, isolation, and greater reconciliations with the aggressor, and absence of bereavement and caregiver role as stressors. Knowing the differences between IPHAW and IPVAW victims allows the design of more specific instruments for risk assessment and the design of more individualized prevention and treatment programs. This also facilitates police work in identifying victims and deploying more intense protection measures.

La violencia de pareja contra la mujer (violencia de género, VdG) y el homicidio de pareja contra la mujer (feminicidio) son fenómenos multidimensionales. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar las tipologías de las víctimas españolas de feminicidio y VdG, basado en las diferencias entre sus características y los determinantes de la agresión. La muestra constaba de 381 casos del Sistema Español de Seguimiento Integral de Casos de Violencia de Género. El instrumento utilizado fue una entrevista semiestructurada. Los resultados mostraron diferencias entre las víctimas de VdG y las víctimas de feminicidios y el análisis de clases latentes sugirió tres perfiles: 1-víctimas mortales, con bajo neuroticismo, bajo aislamiento y sentimientos de soledad, menor reconciliación con el agresor, menor percepción de riesgo y baja ideación suicida; 2-víctimas no mortales, con la pérdida de un ser querido y el rol de cuidador como estresores, bajo psicoticismo y abuso de alcohol, sentimientos de soledad elevados, percepción de riesgo e ideación suicida; 3-perfil mixto, con neuroticismo y psicoticismo elevados, abuso de alcohol, aislamiento y una mayor reconciliación con el agresor y ausencia de duelo y del rol de cuidador como estresores. Conocer las diferencias entre víctimas de feminicidio y de VdG permite el diseño de instrumentos más específicos para la evaluación del riesgo y el diseño de programas de prevención y tratamiento más individualizados. También facilita la labor policial en la identificación de las víctimas y el despliegue de medidas de protección más intensas.

Evolution and study of a copycat effect in intimate partner homicides: A lesson from Spanish femicides.

OBJECTIVES: This paper focuses on the issue of intimate partner violence and, specifically, on the distribution of femicides over time and the existence of copycat effects. This is the subject of an ongoing debate often triggered by the social alarm following multiple intimate partner homicides (IPHs) occurring in a short span of time. The aim of this research is to study the evolution of IPHs and provide a far-reaching answer by rigorously analyzing and searching for patterns in data on femicides. METHODS: The study analyzes an official dataset, provided by the system VioGén of the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (Spanish State Secretariat for Security), including all the femicides occurred in Spain in 2007-2017. A statistical methodology to identify temporal interdependencies in count time series is proposed and applied to the dataset. The same methodology can be applied to other contexts. RESULTS: There has been a decreasing trend in the number of femicides per year. No interdependencies among the temporal distribution of femicides are observed. Therefore, according to data, the existence of copycat effect in femicides cannot be claimed. CONCLUSIONS: Around 2011 there was a clear change in the average number of femicides which has not picked up. Results allow for an informed answer to the debate on copycat effect in Spanish femicides. The planning of femicides prevention activities should not be a reaction to a perceived increase in their occurrence. As a copycat effect is not detected in the studied time period, there is no evidence supporting the need to censor media reports on femicides.

Correction: Evolution and study of a copycat effect in intimate partner homicides: A lesson from Spanish femicides.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217914.].