Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Battering

Individuals with neuropsychological impairment as the result of a head injury are considered to be among those at greatest risk for developing violent and aggressive behavior. Sustaining a TBI has been found to be a significant predictor of becoming a batterer. In a comparison study, prior history of TBI was found to be more highly correlated with domestic battering than any other medical, psychosocial, and psychiatric variables measured (Cohen et al., 1999). Men with a history of brain injury are six times more likely to engage in spousal aggression, and in 93.1% of a group of batters who sustained TBIs, the injury occurred prior to the first episode of domestic violence (Westby & Ferraro, 1999).
Both verbal and physical forms of aggression are common post-injury symptoms described by TBI patients (Warnken et al., 1994). Rosenbaum and Hoge (1989) evaluated the occurrence of significant head injury among batterers, and found that 61% of the sample they studied had sustained a TBI involving loss of consciousness (LOC) in the past. Rosenbaum et al. (1994) conducted a study that compared men who battered, nonviolent men who were reportedly dissatisfied in their marriages, and satisfied married men. A significantly greater number of men who battered had sustained a TBI. Fifty three percent of the men who battered had a history of TBI as compared to 25% of the dissatisfied married men, and 16% of the satisfied married men.