Serotonergic Functioning in Partner-Abusive Men

Abstract

Examines serotonergic activity among partner abusive men in order to evaluate the relationships between head injury, serotonergic functioning, and relationship aggression. 36 partner abusive men (PA) were compared to 38 non-abusive men (NA) on levels of serotonergic activity as indexed by prolactin response to fenfluramine challenge. Results indicated a significant Head injury { x } Abuse { x } Time interaction with PA Ss showing a blunted prolactin response as compared to NA Ss, only in the absence of significant head injury. A follow-up repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) comparing only non-head-injured PA and NA men confirmed that PA men showed significant blunting of the baseline prolactin level (BPL) response as compared to the NA controls. These results suggest that serotonergic deficits may be a factor for some partner abusive men and also that some types of head injury may negatively impact the serotonergic system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)