Comparison of Impulsive and Premeditated Female Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

A bimodal classification of aggression has been shown to be useful among male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV; Stanford, Houston, & Baldridge, 2008). To extend this research, this study attempts to replicate this result in a female population. The Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale (IPAS) was used to classify (N = 87) females who were convicted of domestic violence and court ordered into an intervention program as being predominately impulsive-aggressive (IA) or predominately premeditated-aggressive (PM). The results of this study demonstrate that female IPV perpetrators (both IA and PM) tend to be similar to male IA batterers, with low psychopathic traits and higher levels of psychopathology. Implications and future directions are discussed.