THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEART-RATE REACTIVITY, EMOTIONALLY AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR, AND GENERAL VIOLENCE IN BATTERERS

This study examined the relationships among physiological responses du ring marital conflict, aggressive behavior, and violence in battering couples. As an index of physiological response, the authors used the m ale batterer's heart rate reactivity, assessed as the change from an e yes-closed baseline to the first 5 min of their marital conflict inter action. During marital interaction, violent husbands who lowered their heart rates below baseline levels were more verbally aggressive towar d their wives. Wives responded to these men with anger, sadness, and d efensiveness. The husbands were classified as Type 1 batterers. When c ompared to the remaining violent husbands (classified as Type 2 batter ers), Type 1 men were also more violent toward others (friends, strang ers, coworkers, and bosses), had more elevated scales reflecting antis ocial behavior and sadistic aggression, and were lower on dependency t han Type 2 men. The 2-year followup revealed a separation-divorce rate of 0 for marriages involving Type 1 men and a divorce rate of 27.5% f or marriages involving Type 2 men.