Customer Reviews

The Abusive Personality, Second Edition: Violence and Control in Intimate Relationships

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This text goes into greater depth and covers issues more technically than does the similar volume, titled "The Batterer: A Psychological Profile", by the same author. The content of "The Abusive Personality" is much the same, but "The Batterer" is written for non-professionals. If one is a mental-health, social-work, or other type of professional, or if one enjoys studying materials aimed at such, this is a very informative read. The general reader, though, would probably gain more from reading "The Batterer".

This book is great for an upper-level research, not an easy-reader if you haven't completed quite a bit of research on the subject. But...if you read this book, it has so much information in it that will spare you time reading other books on what the mind-set is behind the abuse, cycle of abuse, learning of the abuse. This book has many of the questions used in custody evaluation by custody evaluators. Professions could benefit from the vast amount of information and years of research provided by Mr. Dutton.

This is a superb work of scholarship, but it is clearly intended for a professional audience, and not for the average reader. Know that you can click on the button under "Kindle Edition" to "Read [the] first chapter free," and you don't have to own a Kindle. The chapter will load on your computer screen. Then you can decide for yourself.
Just from reading the preface and first chapter, I found the book depends on knowledge of the following subject matter: operant conditioning, social learning theory, attachment theory and John Bowlby's work, psychodynamic object relations theory and developmental psychology, research design, factor analysis, multivariate modeling and path analysis. I have probably left out a few other subjects, but you get the idea.

I ordered this book after having been in an abusive relationship with an eye toward understanding the person I had been dealing with. After receiving it, it does seem more that it is not as geared toward the "lay person" as it could be. I think it would be a good reference for psychologists or psychiatrists dealing with this type of personality, but found it a bit technical for my taste.