[Extent of consensus on the occurrence of violence among couples undergoing treatment for partner violence].

Abstract

Background: In relationships where partner violence occurs, the agreement between partners about the violence is often low. This can have various causes and implications.

Aim: To investigate what partners in outpatient forensic treatment for intimate partner violence report about the occurring violence and if indications for psychopathology are related to differences in reporting.

Method: Seventy couples, of which the man had entered intimate partner violence treatment, completed questionnaires about the severity and frequency of different types of violence by themselves and their partners and psychopathology.

Results: There was poor to moderate agreement between intimate partner violence reports of women and men. Women reported more violence than their partners attributed to them, men less. There was more agreement about violence by women than about violence by men. In addition, some indications of psychopathology appear to be moderately or weakly positively correlated with differences in reporting.

Conclusion: It’s valuable to gather information from both partners regarding any violence involved and to explore how differences in their accounts might impact (both the content and approach of) the treatment.