Type and Severity of Intimate Partner Violence in Offenders with and without ADHD

abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders were clinically assessed for ADHD, other psychiatric diagnoses, and frequency of different types of IPV. Of the 347 participants (16.4% women), n = 210 (61%) were clinically diagnosed with ADHD. The ADHD group showed a higher frequency of psychological, minor physical and clinician rated IPV, and also higher rates of comorbid anxiety or mood disorder, substance use disorder, and borderline and antisocial personality disorders. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that ADHD accounted for significant change of variance in frequency of psychological and clinician rated IPV above the effects of age, gender, and comorbid disorders.

Keywords:

• ADHD
• intimate partner violence
• aggression
• forensic psychiatry