Hi, I’m not /r/AskPsychology but I am a psychologist who likes being asked things!
From a quick literature review, antisocial personality disorder does result in three times higher odds of committing violent offenses in general, and 2.5 times higher odds of being a repeat offender (Yu et al., 2012). Generally, personality disorders do increase the risk of someone committing partner abuse, especially Cluster B symptoms (Ehrensaft et al., 2006) Among men who abuse their wives, personality disorders are present in 50%-90% — especially anti-social, sadistic, and borderline (Hart et al., 2011) — despite personality disorders being only present in 15% of the population (Grant et al., 2004). Throughout, these effects are more pronounced in men, but also present to a rather large degree in women.
Less is known regarding whether people with personality disorders are more often victimised in their relationships. Borderline perdonality disorder in women seems to increase the risk of being abused by a partner by a factor of three though (Gilchrist et al., 2012). We also know that the overwhelming majority of people with personality disorders was abused during childhood (Johnson et al., 2001, etc.) and that victims of childhood abuse are much more likely to become victims of partner violence as adults (Gilchrist et al., 2012).
In summary — there is strong evidence that people with personality disorders are far more likely to be abusers than the average person. There is also evidence that they are also more likely to be victims by a similar factor compared to the average person, but that evidence is more scarce. Also, anti-social, borderline, and sadistic personality disorders are more strongly associated with abusers, and borderline with victims. There’s a lot of research still to be done.
Ehrensaft, M. K., Cohen, P., & Johnson, J. G. (2006). Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(3), 474-483.
Gilchrist, G., Blánquez, A., & Torrens, M. (2012). Exploring the relationship between intimate partner violence, childhood abuse, and psychiatric disorders among female drug users in Barcelona. Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 5(2), 46-58.
Grant, B., Hasin, D., Stinson, F., Dawson, D., Chou, S. P., Ruan, W. J., & Pickering, R. (2004). Prevalence, correlates, and disability of personality disorders in the United States: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on alcohol and related conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65(7), 948-958.
Hart, S. D., Sutton, D. G., & Newlove, T. (2011). The prevalence of personality disorders among wife assaulters. Journal of Personality Disorders, 7(4), 329-341.
Johnson, J. G., Cohen, P., Smailes, E. M., Skodol, A. E., Brown, J., & Oldham, J. M. (2001). Childhood verbal abuse and risk for personality disorders during adolescence and early adulthood. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 42(1), 16-23.
Yu, R., Geddes, J. R., & Fazel, S. (2012). Personality disorders, violence, and antisocial behavior: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26(5), 775-792.
I apologize for the late response, I do appreciate the detail in this response. There are a couple things I’m not sure about though, mainly just “what do I say to people who claim that people with cluster B personality disorders are mostly or inherently evil or abusive, especially the ones who claim narcissistic/borderline/psychopathic abuse is a distinct form of abuse from other forms of abuse and/or that basically every evil politician or CEO or whoever secretly has a personality disorder and that’s why they’re evil?” and what the best ways to accommodate someone with a cluster B personality disorder are if I ever get to know someone with one. Not sure if I phrased all of that particularly clearly, so I apologize if it’s confusing. ~Nai
Hi, I’m not /r/AskPsychology but I am a psychologist who likes being asked things!
From a quick literature review, antisocial personality disorder does result in three times higher odds of committing violent offenses in general, and 2.5 times higher odds of being a repeat offender (Yu et al., 2012). Generally, personality disorders do increase the risk of someone committing partner abuse, especially Cluster B symptoms (Ehrensaft et al., 2006) Among men who abuse their wives, personality disorders are present in 50%-90% — especially anti-social, sadistic, and borderline (Hart et al., 2011) — despite personality disorders being only present in 15% of the population (Grant et al., 2004). Throughout, these effects are more pronounced in men, but also present to a rather large degree in women.
Less is known regarding whether people with personality disorders are more often victimised in their relationships. Borderline perdonality disorder in women seems to increase the risk of being abused by a partner by a factor of three though (Gilchrist et al., 2012). We also know that the overwhelming majority of people with personality disorders was abused during childhood (Johnson et al., 2001, etc.) and that victims of childhood abuse are much more likely to become victims of partner violence as adults (Gilchrist et al., 2012).
In summary — there is strong evidence that people with personality disorders are far more likely to be abusers than the average person. There is also evidence that they are also more likely to be victims by a similar factor compared to the average person, but that evidence is more scarce. Also, anti-social, borderline, and sadistic personality disorders are more strongly associated with abusers, and borderline with victims. There’s a lot of research still to be done.
Ehrensaft, M. K., Cohen, P., & Johnson, J. G. (2006). Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(3), 474-483.
Gilchrist, G., Blánquez, A., & Torrens, M. (2012). Exploring the relationship between intimate partner violence, childhood abuse, and psychiatric disorders among female drug users in Barcelona. Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 5(2), 46-58.
Grant, B., Hasin, D., Stinson, F., Dawson, D., Chou, S. P., Ruan, W. J., & Pickering, R. (2004). Prevalence, correlates, and disability of personality disorders in the United States: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on alcohol and related conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65(7), 948-958.
Hart, S. D., Sutton, D. G., & Newlove, T. (2011). The prevalence of personality disorders among wife assaulters. Journal of Personality Disorders, 7(4), 329-341.
Johnson, J. G., Cohen, P., Smailes, E. M., Skodol, A. E., Brown, J., & Oldham, J. M. (2001). Childhood verbal abuse and risk for personality disorders during adolescence and early adulthood. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 42(1), 16-23.
Yu, R., Geddes, J. R., & Fazel, S. (2012). Personality disorders, violence, and antisocial behavior: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26(5), 775-792.
I apologize for the late response, I do appreciate the detail in this response. There are a couple things I’m not sure about though, mainly just “what do I say to people who claim that people with cluster B personality disorders are mostly or inherently evil or abusive, especially the ones who claim narcissistic/borderline/psychopathic abuse is a distinct form of abuse from other forms of abuse and/or that basically every evil politician or CEO or whoever secretly has a personality disorder and that’s why they’re evil?” and what the best ways to accommodate someone with a cluster B personality disorder are if I ever get to know someone with one. Not sure if I phrased all of that particularly clearly, so I apologize if it’s confusing. ~Nai