Lundy Bancroft and Jay Silverman, nationally-recognized researchers on domestic violence and children, have identified at least four characteristics commonly found in abusive partners who are also parents.

1. "These fathers are likely to be rigidly authoritarian. They expect to be obeyed without question, are highly irritable, show little empathy for children, and spank children more than twice as often.
2. Battering fathers tend to be under-involved parents who view children as an annoying hindrance and are unwilling to accommodate their needs. This pattern of neglect may be punctuated with brief periods of fatherly interest in the children during which he will attempt to win their favor.
3. Batterers continually undermine the parenting efforts of the mother by ridiculing her, overruling her decisions, and physically attacking her.
4. Battering fathers tend to be self-centered, viewing the children as extensions of themselves and believing that the children should meet their needs."
   
   (Bancroft & Silverman, The Batterer as Parent, 2002 at 30-31.)