Predicting dropout of court-mandated treatment in a British sample of domestic violence offenders

Abstract

Prior to starting a pro-feminist domestic violence rehabilitation programme, 120 British male domestic violence offenders completed psychometric and attitudinal measures that assessed pro-domestic violence attitudes, anger, locus of control, self-reported emotional and psychological abuse of a partner, interpersonal dependency and social desirability. Offenders who completed the programme were compared to those who dropped out on these measures and demographic variables. Just under one-third (32.5%) of offenders failed to complete the programme. Of those variables that discriminated between completers and dropouts (age, previous custodial sentences, age at first conviction, marital status, self-reported abuse, and diagnosis of depression), only age (being young), having previously received a custodial sentence and self-reported low levels of physical abuse of a partner predicted attrition. These results are discussed with reference to probation supervision.     

Predicting Attrition From Treatment Programs for Abusive Men

Attrition in male battering treatment programs is a serious problem. To keep clients in treatment, it is crucial to understand why they drop out. The current study examined the contribution of both client and program characteristics in predicting dropout from treatment programs for abusive men. Data were collected at intake from 306 abusive men who sought treatment at four different sites. The rate of preprogram attrition (from intake to the first treatment session) was higher in the program that had a lengthy waiting list (46%) than in the other programs amp lpar3%-13%). In-program attrition was more highly related to client characteristics than program characteristics (all programs had rates between 36% and 42%). Those men who dropped out after starting treatment tended to have unstable lifestyles (e.g., substance abuse problems, criminal history, unemployment) and to have inflicted more severe abuse than those who completed treatment. Results also supported a significant interaction between verbal aptitude and structure of program; men with low verbal aptitude were the most likely to drop out of an unstructured program. Possible strategies for preventing attrition are discussed.     

Preventing relapse versus “stopping” domestic violence: Do we expect too much too soon from battering men?

Given the deeply entrenched habit patterns that characterize domestic violence, the author questions the enormous demands for change that are immediately placed on both abusive men and the clinicians treating them. Battering men are not only required to abruptly and permanently halt overt physical violence, but they are also expected to stop all expressions of dominance and intimidation, and to abandon all their exploitative attitudes and sex-role expectations as well. While it is feasible and necessary to insist upon the cessation of physical violence in order to protect the spouse and family, to what degree can the clinician also demand a total revolution in the abusive male's attitudes, social behavior, and values? To better demonstrate the excessivity of these demands, the author makes a comparison to the treatment of substance abusers, where the features of relapse and enduring cognitive distortions are expected and permitted as part of the normal extended course of recovery. Instead, the author proposes a more realistic and humanitarian set of therapeutic expectations for change, emphasizing relapse prevention and supportive maintenance.     

MCMI Results for Batterers: A Response to Gondolf

Gondolph [Gondolf, E. W. (1999). J. Fam. Violence 14: 1–17] recently published MCMI-III results on men in batterer treatment groups that appeared to indicate much lower levels of psychopathology than previous studies. Gondolph concluded from these results that the existence of an abusive personality was debatable. Gondolph is mistaken in drawing conclusions about the abusive personality based solely on MCMI results. The assessment of the abusive personality is not based on this instrument. Also, respondents in Gondolph's study had extremely high Desirability scores on the MCMI-III, so even his estimates of the incidence of personality disorder are questionable. Current assessment of personality disorder has begun to steer away from self-report instruments such as the MCMI-III; this practice should be utilized in assessing batterers.     

Injuries and Health Care Use in Women with Partners in Batterer Intervention Programs

Objective:To characterize injury frequency, injury patterns, and health care seeking behavior in women with intimate partners enrolled in batterer intervention programs. Methods: A standardized telephone interview was conducted on a sample of women with male partners enrolled in batterer intervention programs in four U.S. cities. Information on prior injuries and the utilization of health care services was sought. Results: Four hundred and eighty eight of the 648 women (75.3%) reported a history of prior injury as a result of abuse. Contusions were the most common injury. Of the women reporting contusions, 233 (51.4%) reported contusions as their only injuries. Another 220 women (48.6%) reported other injuries in addition to contusions. In the majority of cases (63.2%) the contusions were to multiple body parts. When the contusion involved only one anatomical region, it was mostly to the face. A total of 192 of the 488 injured women (39.3%) reported ever seeking medical care for injuries caused by their intimate partner. Twenty-three women (4.7% of the injured cohort or 3.5% of the total cohort) reported having ever been hospitalized for injuries sustained from abuse.     

Physically violent husbands of the 1890s and their resources

This article applies Goode's Resource Theory of wife beating to Lane County, Oregon from 1891 to 1900. The sample population consists of 56 women who appeared in divorce suits and claimed that their husbands had physically abused them. The study's findings largely support Resource Theory, although biases in the sample population make it more suggestive than conclusive. Wife beaters of the 1890s tended to be relatively low in economic and social resources, particularly when compared to their wives. The violent husbands' resources appear particularly slight when their psychological resources are considered. The article closes by suggesting that Resource Theory is not necessarily at odds with feminist interpretations of wife battering. Social scientists who assert that husbands' physical violence is more likely when their dominance is pronounced rather than fragile need to define more carefully and detect the actual level of power and resources that particular husbands enjoy.     

MCMI-III Results for Batterer Program Participants in Four Cities: Less “Pathological” Than Expected

Previous research using diagnostic inventories describe the extent and nature of psychopathology among batterers. MCMI-III scores from batterers in a multisite program evaluation (n = 840) were used to replicate this previous research. As in previous batterer research using the MCMI-I and MCMI-II, the MCMI-III results suggest a complex diversity of psychological problems that does not readily conform to previous profiles. However, less than half of the men had scores suggesting a personality disorder (BR scores 85), as opposed to 80% in a previous batterer study using the MCMI-II. Only one quarter of the men (25%) show evidence of a severe mental disorder. Narcissistic or antisocial tendencies were evident in 39% of our batterer sample, reflecting the sense of entitlement often attributed to batterers. Voluntary, as opposed to court-referred men, were more likely to have depressive and dependent tendencies and evidence of severe disorders. Our multisite sample appears to be less pathological than previous batterer samples and samples of psychiatric or drug outpatients.     

Batterers Stalking Patterns

This clinically based study asked 165 batterers attending a court-mandated assessment program to quantify a series of behaviors that occurred since being convicted of battering. The behaviors clustered into 2 factors: (1) an Ambivalent Contact Pattern whereby behaviors of batterers were associated with contacting their ex-partner, sending gifts and letters, and watching her without her knowing while harboring conflicting feelings of love, hate, and anger; and (2) a Predatory Contact Pattern whereby the behaviors of batterers were associated with hang up calls, entering her home without permission, threatening or physically causing harm to her while harboring a propensity for abusiveness. Clinicians should assess batterers for predatory thoughts about the estranged partner, and reason for the contact since separation. Presence of stalking behaviors and predatory fantasy is a window to determine repetitive and escalating domestic violence.     

Interpersonal Dependency Among Court-Ordered Domestic Violence Offenders: A Descriptive Analysis

In the effort to improve treatment programs for batterers, researchers have begun to examine the role of interpersonal dependency in the etiology and maintenance of domestic violence. Recent empirical investigations of interpersonal dependency among maritally violent men have discovered that these men exhibit increased levels of interpersonal dependency when compared to nonviolent men. This study examined the level of interpersonal dependency of 105 adult men court-ordered into a treatment program for domestic violence offenses, and 25 nonviolent men. Results indicated no significant difference in level of interpersonal dependency between the court-ordered batterers and the nonviolent men. Possible explanations for the failure of this research to replicate earlier findings were explored and discussed. These findings indicate that more research is needed before the role of interpersonal dependency in the etiology and maintenance of domestic violence can be understood.