UTILIZATION OF THE BRIEF SYMPTOM INVENTORY TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN VIOLENT AND NONVIOLENT MALE RELATIONSHIP PARTNERS

This study reports on the use of the Brief Symptom Inventcry, a shorte ned version of the Symptom Check List-90-Revised, to measure psychopat hological symptoms that predict male domestic violence. A sample of 15 2 men and their partners reported on the severity of violent behavior present in their relationship. Discriminant analysis indicated variati on in men's violent status as a function of psychopathological symptom s. Violent men evidenced higher scores on 7 of the 9 subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory, namely, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, Phobi a, Paranoid Ideation, Interpersonal Sensitivity, and Psychoticism.