Bizarre Homicides Linked to Kindled Partial Seizures
Through Intermittent, Moderate Stresses, Proposed as new syndrome: "Limbic
Psychotic Trigger Reaction" (LPTR)
Anneliese A. Pontius (Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General
Hospital, Boston, MA)
Bizarre homicides, not classifiable by any known diagnostic category,
are presented. These acts have met l6 inclusion and l3 exclusion criteria,
and have so far consistently found in l7 single, white, middle class, previously
non-violent social loners of above average intelligence. Included in the
l3 symptoms and signs are well-remembered, motiveless, unplanned homicidal
acts, committed with flat affect, brief psychosis, and autonomic arousal.
LPTR implicates partial limbic seizures, which do not quantitatively impair
consciousness and memory. It appears that such partial seizures are kindled
by individualized trigger stimuli, reviving the memories of intermittent
past hurts.(back to top)
Testing a typology of batterers
Julia C. Babcock (University of Houston, Houston, TX)
Jennifer Waltz (University of Montana, Bozeman, MT)
Neil S. Jacobson and John M. Gottman (University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington)
Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) describe three types of men who
batter their wives: 1) generally violent/antisocial batterers; 2) dysphoric/borderline
batterers; and 3) family-only batterers. The current study empirically
validates this theoretical typology and examines differences in batterers'
behavior during violent and non-violent arguments. Scores on personality
disorder and violence scales were entered into mixture analyses to cluster
the batterers (n=74). Mixture analysis derived three clusters which mapped
topographically onto the tripartite typology. Behavioral differences between
the three types of batterers were also found.(back
to top)
Therapeutic alliance: Predictor of treatment dropout
and success in a group treatment program for violent men
Pamela D. Brown and Daniel K. O'Leary
(State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY)
This study examined the therapeutic alliance between client and therapist,
an established predictor in individual therapy, on group treatment outcome
in partner violent men. Strength of the alliance was positively associated
with treatment outcome (i.e. decreased husband to wife psychological and
physical aggression). Alliance assessed at session 1 was a good predictor
of treatment success, while alliance assessed at session 3 was unrelated
to treatment success. Further, alliance between husband and therapist
proved a stronger predictor of outcome than alliance between wife and therapist.
Finally, although alliance (i.e. husbands' and wives') was related to treatment
success, it was unrelated to treatment completion.(back
to top)