MMPI-2 Personality Profiles of Male Victims of Domestic Violence: Original Research into the ’silent Victims’

Many people call male victims of domestic violence the silent victims. As the first study to examine the personalities of male victims of domestic violence, in my research I wanted to utilize the leading psychological instrument in assessing personality, the MMPI-2. The study compared MMPI-2 profiles of male victims of domestic violence compared to the MMPI-2 profiles of males who were matched according to age and ethnicity. One-way ANOVAS were conducted to compare the means of the male victims group with means of the male normals group. The results yielded significance for scales Pd and Pa. The findings were consistent with female victim scores (Kahn, Welch & Zilmer, 1993; Rosewater, 1988) except for Scale Sc where significance was not attained. Analysis of other clinical and validity scales yielded significance for Scales F, Hs, D, Hy, Mf, Ma, and Si. Results indicated that male victims of domestic violence see and view the world differently than most men. It is my hope that my new research into the personalities of male victims of domestic violence will inspire more research to help those silent victims.