An exploration of the intrapsychic experiences of male IPV perpetrators through Object Relations Theory

Abstract

Owing to its devastatingly near pandemic proportion in South Africa, research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has examined victims’ experiences and the impact on their psychological well-being. There is a dearth of literature on perpetrators’ experiences, especially their intrapsychic conflicts and how that may be significant in their perpetration of IPV. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore the intrapsychic dynamics involved in the experiences of male IPV perpetrators. Consequently, object relations theory (ORT) was employed as an interpretive lens through which the perpetrators’ internal and thus external object representation was interpreted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five male perpetrators to shed light on their emotive and experiential reality in perpetrating IPV. To interpret and understand their experiences, interpretive thematic analysis (ITA) was employed to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the perpetrators experienced remorse, shame, and guilt consequent to the harm they had inflicted on their partners. Furthermore, it was through internalised persecutory objects that they represented and experienced themselves in relation to their external reality. Unresolved psychic conflicts, which originated specifically from self-object relational dynamics, were attributed as being significant in IPV perpetration. The caregiver-child relationships the perpetrators described informed external and internal representations of the self and other. These representations were thus characterised by unfulfilled needs, neglect and aggression. One may deduce that the development of the personality structure in the internalisations of self-other representations influences how life is experienced. IPV is therefore a re-enactment of unresolved early childhood trauma. These findings shed light on the intrapsychic dynamics of IPV perpetrators, which should be considered in the development of effective IPV interventions.