Psychopathological profile of men convicted of gender violence: a study in the prisons of Spain.

In this article, a description of the demographic, penal, and psychopathological characteristics of 54 men who are in prison because of having committed a serious offense of gender violence was carried out. Furthermore, a comparison of all the variables studied between the participants with homicide and those without homicide was done. The results showed the existence of irrational beliefs both about women and violence as a strategy to cope with everyday difficulties, as well as a general inadaptation to daily life. However, from a psychopathological point of view, in spite of not observing a high degree of symptomatology in the sample, the psychiatric and penal antecedents and current emotional instability were much more frequent and severe in people who had not committed homicide. Therefore, two possible differential profiles among the violent men are presented.