The role of psychopathy in intimate partner violence: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64217/logosguardiacivil.v4i2.8946Keywords:
psychopathological disorders, intimate partner violence, psychopathic dimensions, recidivism, systematic review, psychopathological disorders, intimate partner violence, psychopathic dimensions, recidivism, systematic reviewAbstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes a public health problem with serious physical, psychological, and social consequences. Among the individual factors associated with its perpetration, psychopathy has gained particular relevance in recent years. The present study aims to update and analyze the empirical evidence published between 2017 and 2025 on the relationship between psychopathic traits and intimate partner violence. A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science databases and on the ProQuest platform, applying pre-defined PICOS criteria. Twenty quantitative studies were included, comprising a total sample of 7,706 adults from clinical, community, and forensic settings. The results show a significant association between psychopathy and IPV, especially when the dimensions of the construct are analyzed separately. Primary psychopathy is mainly linked to instrumental violence and control strategies, while secondary psychopathy is associated with impulsive violence and a higher risk of recidivism. Likewise, differentiated profiles of aggressors are identified based on the predominant psychopathic facets. The clinical and forensic implications derived from these findings are discussed, as well as the methodological limitations of the current literature. Overall, the results support the importance of the dimensional analysis of psychopathy to understand the heterogeneity of IPV.
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