Why Doesn’t He Leave? Relationship Continuity and Satisfaction Among Male Domestic Violence Offenders

Abstract

In contrast to the extensive literature on women's decisions to leave violent relationships, there is little research examining relationship continuity from the offending male's perspective. Similarly, research exploring relationship satisfaction in men arrested for intimate partner violence (IPV) is lacking, despite the fact that dissatisfaction appears to increase risk for future IPV. The present study explored these issues using a large sample of men who were recently convicted of violence toward a female intimate partner (N = 1,130). More than half of the men (59%) reported that they were continuing or planning to continue their relationship. Factors associated with relationship continuity included older age, being married to the victim, having children together, attributing less blame to the victim for the recent offense, and having a childhood history of family violence. Among men who were continuing their relationship, low relationship satisfaction was predicted by having children, expressing hostile attitudes toward women, being jealous, blaming the victim for the arrest incident, and describing the victim as aggressive. Implications of the findings for clinical practice and research are discussed.