University of Granada, Spain.
Centre for Biomedical Technology, Madrid, Spain.
J Interpers Violence. 2022 Jun;37(11-12):NP10271-NP10295. doi: 10.1177/0886260520985484. Epub 2021 Jan 15.
Emotional regulation is crucial to psychological functioning and mental health. Studies of male batterers indicate the critical role that emotional processing plays in the violence they exert upon their partners or ex-partners. The aim of this study was to investigate the neural bases of emotional regulation in male batterers-both in experiencing and suppressing emotions-when faced with pictures of intimate partner violence (IPV). We conducted a fMRI study to compare brain functioning when emotions were experienced or increased with the case in which emotions were suppressed or reduced in response to IPV pictures and unpleasant pictures. The sample consisted of three groups: Male Batterers Group (MBG, = 26), that is, men convicted for IPV; Other Offenders Group (OOG, = 27), men convicted of crimes other than IPV; and a Non-offenders Group ( = 29), that is, men without a criminal history. The results reveal that in MBG, the brain areas that previous studies have related to suppression and experience processes were activated when faced with unpleasant pictures. However, a different pattern of functioning was found when experiencing IPV pictures. That could be explained by a low capacity to empathize with their partners or ex-partners and by the use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies. In addition, MBG showed activation in brain areas previously related to suppression but did not modulate their emotions, showing a similar emotional state after suppression and experience. The results of this preliminary study suggest that in psychological treatments for male batterers, it is important to promote empathy towards partners or ex-partners, along with adaptive strategies of emotional regulation.
情绪调节对心理功能和心理健康至关重要。对男性施虐者的研究表明，情绪处理在他们对伴侣或前伴侣施加暴力方面起着关键作用。本研究旨在探讨男性施虐者在面对亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）图片时体验和抑制情绪的神经基础。我们进行了一项 fMRI 研究，比较了在面对 IPV 图片和不愉快图片时，情绪被体验或增强时的大脑功能与情绪被抑制或减弱时的大脑功能。样本包括三组：男性施虐者组（MBG，n=26），即因 IPV 而被定罪的男性；其他犯罪者组（OOG，n=27），即因除 IPV 以外的犯罪而被定罪的男性；和非犯罪者组（n=29），即没有犯罪史的男性。结果表明，在 MBG 中，当面对不愉快的图片时，先前与抑制和体验过程相关的大脑区域被激活。然而，当面对 IPV 图片时，发现了不同的功能模式。这可以用与伴侣或前伴侣共情能力低以及使用适应性差的情绪调节策略来解释。此外，MBG 在先前与抑制相关的大脑区域显示出激活，但没有调节他们的情绪，在抑制和体验后表现出相似的情绪状态。这项初步研究的结果表明，在针对男性施虐者的心理治疗中，促进对伴侣或前伴侣的共情以及适应性情绪调节策略非常重要。
