MMPI profile of women and men convicted of domestic homicide

Abstract

The present study investigated the psychological characteristics of men and women convicted of domestic homicide. Demographic information and MMPIs were collected from women (n = 16) and men (n = 20) convicted of murdering their partners and men (n = 19) convicted of murdering strangers during the course of a crime. Analyses of variance indicated that women had significantly higher elevations of MMPI scales PA and SI than both groups of men, while men convicted of murdering strangers had higher elevations on scale MA than men convicted of domestic murder. These findings suggest different patterns of psychopathology among homicide offenders depending on the offender's relationship to the victim. Results are discussed with reference to previous research on domestic murderers and female offenders.