Examining Mental Ill-Health in Adult Male Perpetrators of Family Violence

Altwaijiri I¹

¹Swinburne University Of Technology, ²Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, ³Forensicare

Biography:

Israa Altwaijiri is a PhD student (Doctor of Clinical and Forensic Psychology) at the Centre of Forensic and Behavioural Sciences, Swinburne University. Israa has a keen research interest in examining the mental ill-health in victims and perpetrators of family violence. Her PhD research is focussed on investigating the mental health outcomes for male victims and perpetrators of family violence, including prevalence rates, patterns of victimisation or perpetration overtime and their interaction with mental health (i.e., a temporal sequence between family violence victimisation or perpetration and mental ill-health through police reports and mental health service usage).

Research indicates a strong link between perpetration of violence and underlying mental ill-health (MIH). The MIH in male perpetrators of Family Violence (FV) is seldom examined, perpetuating their MIH through inappropriate treatment programs.  This research aimed to address the important knowledge gaps by conducting a data-linkage empirical study, using a quasi-longitudinal study design through police reports and Mental Health Service Usage (MHSU). The police reports and different types of MHSU were used as the reliable indicators of FV and MIH. We investigated the lifetime/12 months prevalence of different types of MHSU and mental health prescriptions to identify the prevalence of different types of MHSU, specific diagnoses, different patterns of perpetration over time and associated MHSU or temporal sequence by comparing police-reported male perpetrators of different characteristics.

Randomly selected community sample data of 1228 male respondents/perpetrators are collected from Victoria Police. The health data was obtained from the Client Management Interface/Operational Data Store service contacts for each person over their lifetime, including AIHW data, which is comprised of Medicare mental health data and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data. Descriptive statistics and a regression-based statistical models were used to analyse the data. The descriptive results indicated significant differences in prevalence rates of MHSU and mental health diagnoses for police-reported male perpetrators of different characteristics. This research shed light on the clinical presentations and a need for targeted interventions for male perpetrators and may have important implications for research, policy, and clinical practice.