Intimate Partner Violence Offenders Research Articles

The Victim–Offender Overlap in Intimate Partner Violence: A Within-Individual Approach

The aim of the current study is to contribute to the understanding on whether the victim–offender overlap in intimate partner violence (IPV) is a product of population heterogeneity or state dependency between victimization and offending. The study uses a large data set of Finnish police-recorded IPV victims ( N = 13,452) and offenders ( N = 13,061) to assess whether IPV victimization and offending are temporally associated over and above stable individual differences. The results indicate that the associations between IPV victimization and offending are not fully explained by population heterogeneity, as they persist in the within-individual analyses for both directions and genders. Gender, however, seems to affect the magnitude and robustness of the associations. Further research is needed on the mechanisms driving these results.

The proactive-reactive classification of intimate partner violence offenders: A multi-method approach to classification.

Men who commit violence against an intimate partner differ in their motives. Classifying the proactivity of men's partner violence may reveal important differences that could be treatment targets. To examine the differences between proactive and reactive partner violence based on coded descriptions of past violent events. Community cohabiting couples reporting intimate partner violence were recruited via advertisements. Men and women were independently interviewed about past male-to-female violent events. The narratives of a male perpetrator and a female victim were coded using a Proactive-Reactive coding system, yielding three categories of violence: reactive, mixed proactive/reactive and proactive. The three categories were compared for differences in personality disorder features, attachment, psychophysiological reactivity during a conflict discussion task, and a self- and partner report of men's proactive and reactive aggressive tendencies. The results revealed a 54% classification agreement between perpetrator and victim reports. No differences were found on personality or attachment measures between the groups regardless of gender of the reporter. Reactive violence was related to a tendency to self-report more reactive aggression and higher heart rate reactivity during a laboratory conflict discussion compared to the group reporting both proactive and reactive violent incidents. This study suggests that a coding system for intimate partner violence can be applied to community volunteers, and it is a reliable report and valid. However, there are discrepancies when the coding is based on the perpetrator or victim reports.

Diminished vagally mediated heart rate variability in a compassion-eliciting task in intimate partner violence offenders

PurposeRecent research has identified different psychobiological mechanisms underlying Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). However, vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), a measure of parasympathetic activity, has been scarcely studied in IPV perpetrators. Low vmHRV activity has been found to be associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and negative affect, whereas high vmHRV functioning has been related to higher social engagement, positive affect, prosocial behavior and compassion. MethodsThe present study examined vmHRV, mood state and prosocial behavior in a Compassion-eliciting Task, through a virtual reality paradigm, in 39 IPV offenders, compared to 42 general offenders (GO) and 43 non-forensic control participants. Additionally, it explored whether phasic vmHRV could explain the mood change in response to the Compassion Task. ResultsIPV offenders showed lower vmHRV activity during the task when compared to non-forensic participants. No significant differences were obtained between IPV and GO. Furthermore, higher vmHRV partially explained lower negative affect after the Compassion Task for the entire sample. ConclusionsFindings suggest that IPV offenders experience difficulties connecting with others' suffering. It also highlights that the use of biomarkers, such as vmHRV, in the study of criminogenic factors may provide a broader understanding that could promote more effective interventions.

Disarming Intimate Partner Violence Offenders: An In-Depth Descriptive Analysis of Federal and State Firearm Prohibitor Laws in the United States, 1991-2016.

Intimate partner violence is a preventable public health problem affecting more than 12 million people in the United States annually. The immense burden of victimization is most often borne by women. Nearly one in two female homicide victims are killed by current or former partners (more than 50% of which involve firearms). Firearm-related morbidity and mortality are concentrated where firearm ownership is most prevalent and firearm laws are least restrictive, indicating the potential for law to serve as an intervention. Understanding intricacies within laws and how they vary is critical to studying their influence on health. This study is the first to use the scientific legal mapping technique of policy surveillance to create legal data by systematically collecting and coding laws that authorize or require courts to prohibit offenders subject to domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs) and temporary restraining orders (TROs) from purchasing and possessing firearms ("firearm prohibitor" laws). These data measure key provisions of federal and state laws from 1991 to 2016, including whether the law includes a firearm prohibition, who qualifies as an intimate partner, notice and hearing requirements, whether the prohibition occurs automatically or through judicial discretion, and if the law permits or requires the relinquishment or removal of firearms. The federal law, enacted in 1994 (and reauthorized in 2022), only protects qualifying victims that obtain final DVROs. States can mirror or go beyond federal measures. From 1991 to 2016, 38 states enacted a firearm prohibitor law through DVROs (37 states), TROs (20 states), or both (19 states). Today, survivors suffer from a sluggish and fragmented legal system leading to the unequal protection of victims based on where they happen to live. This research provides an in-depth descriptive analysis of this complex and nuanced legal system, recommendations to spur policy reform, and longitudinal data for future research.

Risk Posed by Different Intimate Partner Violence Offender Types: Findings From a Representative Police Sample

Spanish intimate partner violence against women offender types (i.e., high instability/high antisociality, HiHa; low instability/high antisociality, LiHa; high instability/low antisociality, HiLa; low instability/low antisociality, LiLa) were matched with their police recidivism outcomes in a longitudinal study of 9,672 cases. Our goal was to examine whether these subtypes differed in (1) their recidivism rates, (2) the severity of the new violent episodes, and (3) the evolution of their risk levels. Results showed that individuals with high antisociality features where associated with the highest recidivism rates (26.5% HiHa; 22.6% LiHa), and higher likelihood of new severe violent episodes. HiHa offenders showed the highest risk over time, although the risk posed by all subtypes decreased during follow-up. Implications for police work are discussed.

The Role of Self-Control in Predicting Intimate Partner Violence Specialization in an Australian Community Sample

PurposeThis study builds on knowledge of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by examining theoretically important aspects of this crime within an Australian community sample. More specifically, the current study examines the relationship between IPV offenders’ levels of self-control and offense specialization and determines whether this relationship differs by gender.MethodAn online survey advertised on social media yielded an analysis sample of 155 females and 170 males. Self-control was measured using the Brief Self-Control scale and specialization was measured with the Offense Specialization Coefficient (OSC) and a multilevel item response theory measurement approach.ResultsFindings indicate that IPV offenders with low levels of self-control are more versatile in their offending and that this relationship was more evident and pronounced for females.ConclusionsFindings are mostly supportive of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime and highlight important differences within IPV offender populations that should be considered when designing targeted prevention and intervention methods.

Prosecutorial decision-making regarding offenders' social reintegration programs in intimate partner violence cases. A Portuguese study.

Intimate partner violence is one of the most challenging and demanding problems that the criminal justice system has to face. Given the severe consequences of intimate partner violence, it is imperative that intervention from the criminal justice system, regarding perpetrators, be effective to prevent further victimization and recurrences. In Portugal, it is up to the state prosecutor to decide which cases will be subject to a social reintegration program as a pretrial diversion program. This study aims to explore the variables that might influence the state prosecutor’s decision-making process. We have examined 283 intimate partner violence cases in which provisional suspension of criminal proceedings was applied. The decision as to whether defendants should be referred for social reintegration program attendance (G1) or not (G2) was made by the state prosecutor. Differences between G1 and G2 were identified: the victim’s age, couple living in a current relationship, drug-addicted defendant, intimate partner violence child exposure. However, defendants’ unemployment and drug abuse were the only two variables identified as a determinant for state prosecutor decisions. We believe that the effectiveness of state prosecution decision-making would benefit from: (a) systematically taking into account all intimate partner violence risk factors; (b) an index or checklist detailing what science reveals useful in intimate partner violence offenders’ social reintegration; (c) rehabilitation solutions based on the needs of each offender instead of a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

Impact of ADHD as a Risk and a Treatment Factor in Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a very high prevalence (25%) in society and has serious consequences for its victims. As former studies showed minimal effectiveness of therapeutic interventions addressing IPV, the Dutch guideline for Familial/Domestic Violence (NVVP, 2008) recommends to focus more on systemic factors and on individual risk factors of IPV. ADHD is one of these individual risk factors. This presentation focuses on the association between ADHD and IPV, presenting data and clinical examples. ADHD was missed in 56% of a sample of forensic outpatients. Reasons for this issue of underdiagnosis of ADHD in case of aggression and IPV are discussed. Also, data of the ITAP (impact of treatment of ADHD on IPV) study are presented, showing that ADHD in offenders of IPV with ADHD scored higher on minor physical aggression, minor and severe psychological aggression and clinician-rated IPV than offenders without ADHD. Further, after a one year treatment of ADHD and IPV, decrease in IPV was mainly associated with decrease in ADHD symptoms. The importance of screening and treatment of ADHD symptoms in all IPV offenders is discussed to make treatment of IPV more effective.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Social correlates of specialized versus versatile offending patterns in intimate partner violence: A register-based study in Finland

PurposeThe purpose of the current study was to examine the tendencies toward specialization and generalist offending among intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders and to assess whether some well-known correlates of criminal offending are differentially associated with various offending patterns. MethodWe use large-scale register-based data from Finland including all offenders in police-recorded cases of IPV between 2015 and 2019 (N = 19,030). Two different analytic approaches suggested for research on offense specialization are used: the multilevel item response theory (IRT) approach and latent class analysis (LCA). ResultsSignificant tendencies toward both specialization and generalist offending were found in the data using both analysis methods. In addition, the correlates were differentially associated with specialized versus versatile offending patterns. Specialization in IPV was associated with, for example, female gender, older age, higher socioeconomic status, and having an immigrant background. The findings also show IPV specialization and generalist offending to be differentially associated with different victimization types. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that the idea of IPV offenders as specialists who do not engage in violence and crime in other contexts is not empirically fully accurate. Implications for future research, theory, and prevention policies are discussed.

Assessing States' Intimate Partner Violence Offender Treatment Standards using a Principles of Effective Intervention Framework.

Court-ordered treatment programs are a widely used response to intimate partner violence (IPV) and many states have developed standards to guide programs. The current study provides an update to Maiuro and Eberle's. (2008) review of states' standards and extends the literature by using the principles of effective intervention (PEIs; i.e., risk, need, responsivity, treatment, and fidelity) as an organizational framework to examine standards. Findings showed that 84% of states had standards in 2020, compared to 88% in 2007, and extensive changes both within and across states' standards had occurred. Regarding the PEIs, in line with the risk principle most states mandated the use of risk assessments; inconsistent with the needs principle, few states used these assessments to classify clients into risk levels or inform individualized treatment. The majority of standards addressed the treatment principle by outlining a required structure and duration, but few attended to responsivity factors (e.g., identifying treatment modalities, attending to specific client factors). Regarding the fidelity principle, most standards outlined education or training requirements for staff and required periodic program reviews or audits, but few standards were evidenced-based and only about half required that programs collect data to measure effectiveness. Taken together, findings suggest that standards have continued to evolve and that the integration of PEIs into IPV treatment is only just beginning. Standards provide a rich opportunity for future researcher-practitioner partnerships in the field of IPV intervention.

Does Stalking Behavior Improve Risk Prediction of Intimate Partner Violence?

ABSTRACT The present study investigates whether stalking is associated with recidivism risk among IPV offenders and incrementally adds to the predictive validity of existing validated risk measures for predicting recidivism of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators. Using 226 police-reported cases of IPV, the criminal histories of the perpetrators in these cases were examined, and perpetrators were categorized based on their stalking histories. Stalkers and non-stalkers were then compared on their risk scores, and survival analyses were conducted to determine if stalking incrementally improved prediction of recidivism outcomes over and above the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) and a modified version of the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA). We found that the SARA significantly differed between stalking and non-stalking perpetrators, but no difference emerged when we examined the ODARA score and recidivism outcomes. We found that stalking did not incrementally increase predictive validity for recidivism outcomes over and above the modified SARA and ODARA. Our findings challenge policies that regard stalking as a risk factor for future IPV and explore how police services may better allocate resources in cases of intimate partner stalking.

Evaluating borderline personality disorder traits in the context of an intimate partner violence intervention programme

ABSTRACT Research has demonstrated a clear association between Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration, but an association with IPV intervention programme drop-out and recidivism has not been directly examined. In the current study, we examined associations between self-reported BPD symptomology and self-reported IPV perpetration variables, IPV intervention programme outcome, and recidivism. An additional goal was to compare traditional DSM-5 BPD with the Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) dimensional trait perspective. For this purpose, we used archival data of 531 men in a court-ordered group IPV intervention programme. Results indicated that IPV offenders with BPD symptomology were of increased risk for failing to complete IPV treatment and were more likely re-offend in a one year follow up period, thus providing further support for the relevance of personality pathology in relation to IPV treatment success. Overall both ‘traditional’ BPD and AMPD BPD-relevant trait dimensions were shown to be approximately equally associated with self-report IPV variables, IPV treatment outcomes, and recidivism, with minor advantages for each BPD model for different outcome variables. Regardless of perspective, our findings indicate that BPD symptoms and traits are important for clinicians to consider in the treatment and risk assessment of IPV offenders.

Perception of Risk in Intimate Partner Violence Is Influenced by Risk Scales, Perpetrator and Victim Gender, and Mental Illness Diagnosis: A Risk Communication Study With Laypeople

Despite considerable research on the predictive accuracy of risk scales, there is limited research exploring other factors that influence perceptions of risk. We recruited participants (N = 1,955) from Amazon's Mechanical Turk to read a vignette about a fictional intimate partner violence offender, varying risk level on a fictional scale (low or high), perpetrator gender (cis male, cis female, or transgender female), victim gender (cis male or cis female), and mental health diagnosis (none, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorder). The strongest effect was for the risk scale, with offenders perceived as highest risk when the scale reported “high risk” as opposed to “low risk.” The other main effects were also statistically significant. Cases were perceived as riskier when the perpetrator was cis male or the victim was cis female. Regarding mental health diagnosis, the highest risk ratings were provided in the schizophrenia condition. There was also a significant interaction among risk level, perpetrator gender, and diagnosis. The extent to which participants relied on gendered stereotypes about the relationship between mental illness and violence when providing risk judgments should be examined in future research. Overall, these findings enhance our understanding of characteristics that are secondary to risk level but are likely to influence case management decisions in cases of intimate partner violence.

Treatment efficacy on the cognitive competence of convicted intimate partner violence offenders

Treatment efficacy on the cognitive competence of convicted intimate partner violence offenders

Court-mandated interventions for individuals convicted of domestic violence: An updated Campbell systematic review.

Survey research and analysis of police records, hospital emergency rooms, and women's shelters have clearly established the severity of the intimate partner violence problem and the need to find programs to address this issue. Roughly 1 in 4 women in an intimate relationship is a victim of intimate partner violence. Court-mandated batterer intervention programs (BIPs) have been implemented throughout the United States as a leading method to address this problem. These programs are also now implemented in Canada and Europe. These programs emerged from the women's shelter movement leading to programs with a strong feminist orientation, such as the Duluth Model. The programs that were developed were group-based and relied on psychoeducational methods. Their aim was to get men to take responsibility for their sexist beliefs and stop abusing their partners by teaching them alternative responses for handling their anger. More recent programs draw from cognitive-behavioral therapeutic principles or a mix of the latter with feminist components as well. This is an update of our prior review. The aim was to assess the effects of postarrest court-mandated interventions for intimate partner violence offenders that target, in part or exclusively, male batterers. Our focus was on studies aimed at reducing intimate partner violence, above and beyond what would have been expected by routine legal procedures (e.g., probation monitoring, etc.). We searched numerous databases and websites, bibliographies of published reviews of related literature, and a scrutiny of annotated bibliographies of related literature. Our goal was to identify all published and unpublished literature that met our selection criteria. The original review identified nine eligible studies. The updated search identified two new studies. The total sample size across these 11 studies was 4824. We included experimental (random assignment) and quasi-experimental evaluations of court-mandated BIPs that measured official or victim reports of future intimate partner violence. Rigorous quasi-experimental designs were defined as those that either used matching or statistical controls to improve the comparability of the treated (program) and untreated (comparison) groups. The original review also included quasi-experimental designs that used treatment drop-outs as the comparison group. Given the serious selection bias of such studies, these have not been included in this update. We coded characteristics of the treatment, sample, outcomes, and research methods. Findings were extracted in the form of an effect size and effect sizes were analyzed using the inverse-variance weight method of meta-analysis. Official report and victim report outcomes were analyzed separately as were the different design types (i.e., random assignment and quasi-experimental designs with a no treatment comparison). The mean effect for official reports of intimate partner violence from experimental studies showed a modest (but statistically nonsignificant) benefit for the program group (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.49-1.28], k = 7) whereas the mean effect for victim reported outcomes showed equal outcomes for both groups (e.g., no benefit or harm; odds ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, [0.74-1.32], k = 7). The quasi-experimental studies showed a small but not statistically significant benefit for the program group on official reports (odds ratio, 0.54; 95% CI [0.24-1.22], k = 7). One quasi-experiment reported a nonsignificant effect for a victim report outcome (odds ratio, 1.76; 95% CI [0.50-6.14], k = 1). None of the analyses were statistically significant. Thus, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that these programs are effective. Both the official measure and the victim reported measures have potential sources of bias, increasing the uncertainty regarding any benefits or harms related to these programs. The findings, we believe, raise doubts about the effectiveness of court-mandated BIPs in reducing re-assault among men convicted of misdemeanor intimate partner violence. New programs and/or entirely new approaches to this important social problem should be explored.

The Effect of Biofeedback on Intimate Partner Violence: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Studies on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders show small to no effects on recidivism. IPV-offenders may not fully benefit from CBT due to insufficient transfer and generalization from therapy to real-life situations. During CBT, patients are taught to detect bodily signals indicative of arousal. A possible reason that the transfer is insufficient might be that the arousal-provoking stimuli in therapy do not match the real-world provoking stimuli, and thus patients do not learn to sufficiently detect bodily signals preceding arousal in real-life. Recent research has shown that IPV-offenders differ in their psychophysiological reactivity depending on their main diagnosis. This might also have implications for learning transfer. We presume that IPV perpetrators cannot fully profit from CBT interventions in which self-control is taught from cognitive techniques instead of increasing physical awareness through biofeedback. In the present study we first want to test the hypothesis that biofeedback will increase awareness of bodily signals indicative of arousal. Second, we expect that the use of biofeedback will have beneficial effects on transfer to real-life situations resulting in a decrease of IPV. For this purpose, we developed a smartphone application, Good Reaction Is Prevention (GRIP), that when used in conjunction with a heart rate monitor measures heart rate variability and notifies users when a personal stress threshold is surpassed. Methods/design: The study takes place in an outpatient forensic treatment center. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 40) we compare a 9-week CBT-based program aimed at developing motivation and self-control where IPV offenders will be treated either with or without biofeedback. The primary outcome is change in frequency of IPV from pretest to posttest. Secondary outcomes are weekly self-report questionnaires on bodily sensations of anger and change in resting HRV-values between pre and post intervention. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first study to test the effects of a biofeedback application on IPV. This study will test a new intervention strategy which is expected to increase treatment effects by focusing on bodily awareness instead of cognitive processes.

Using a General Case Management Tool With Partner-violent Men on Community Supervision in Iowa

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is among the most common acts of violence against women worldwide, making it a major global threat to women's health and safety. The assessment and management of IPV offenders are therefore vital tasks in criminal justice systems. The current study examined whether the DRAOR, a general case management tool, was useful for supervising 112 male IPV offenders in Iowa, United States. Several risk factors emerged as potentially important treatment targets for partner-violent men, including poor attachment with others, substance abuse, anger/hostility, opportunity/access to victims, and problematic interpersonal relationships. While further research is needed to improve the utility of the DRAOR for predicting IPV recidivism, it assesses several factors that are relevant for supervising IPV cases (e.g., substance abuse, anger/hostility, victim access). This suggests the DRAOR could potentially be used to guide case management in the presence of a validated IPV tool that focuses on static risk factors, such as the ODARA. The use of the DRAOR with IPV offenders may also be warranted if they are found to be generally violent/antisocial rather than as family only offenders.

Treatment efficacy on the cognitive competence of convicted intimate partner violence offenders

La evaluación de la eficacia del tratamiento de maltratadores en los Registros Oficiales o los Informes de las parejas no es válida, al tiempo que las intervenciones eficaces se dirigen a dotarlos de competencia cognitiva y conductual. Por ello diseñamos un estudio de campo para medir los efectos de la intervención en la competencia cognitiva. Un total de 100 condenados por violencia de género que completaron un programa penitenciario de tratamiento en la comunidad fueron evaluados pre- y post-tratamiento en la competencia cognitiva, esto es, auto-concepto, inteligencia emocional, atribución de responsabilidad, destrezas cognitivas para el afrontamiento de eventos estresantes en pareja, expresión y control de la ira, y creencias irracionales y pensamientos distorsionados. Los resultados mostraron un efecto significativo del tratamiento en la adquisición de las destrezas cognitivas. Sucintamente, el tratamiento potenció el auto-concepto general el 18.2% y las dimensiones internas del auto-concepto auto-satisfacción el 33.5% y comportamiento el 25.6%; y la claridad para discriminar las emociones el 31.8%. Además, el tratamiento incrementó la asunción interna de responsabilidad el 31.8%; el control de la ira el 19.1%; y el uso de estrategias adaptativas para el afrontamiento de eventos estresantes en pareja entre el 48.9% y el 61.3%. Finalmente, el tratamiento redujo el uso de estrategias desadaptativas entre el 25.6% y el 35.1%; y las creencias irracionales y pensamientos distorsionados relacionados con el uso de la violencia, rol de género y dependencia emocional, en el 78.2%, 48.2% y 63.6%, respectivamente. No obstante, no todos los maltratadores se beneficiaron del tratamiento. The evaluation of the efficacy of treatment of batterers in Official or Couple Records is not valid, whilst the efficient interventions are focused on the empowerment of cognitive and behavioural competence. A field study for measuring the effects of the treatment on the cognitive competence was designed. A total of 100 batterers who had completed a community penitentiary intervention programme, were assessed pre- and post-treatment in cognitive competence i.e., self-concept, emotional intelligence, attribution of responsivity, cognitive skills to cope intimate-partner-related stressful events, expression and control of anger, and irrational beliefs and distorted thoughts. The results showed a significant effect of the treatment in the acquisition of cognitive competence skills. Succinctly, treatment empowered the general self-concept in 18.2%, and the internal dimensions of self-concept self-satisfaction in 33.5% and behaviour in 25.6%; and clarity to discriminate among moods in 31.8%. Moreover, treatment increased the assumption of internal responsivity in 31.8%; anger control in 19.1%; and the use of adaptive strategies to cope intimate-partner-related stressful events between 48.9% and 61.3%. Finally, treatment involved a fall in the use of maladaptive strategies to cope intimate-partner-related stressful events between 25.6% and 35.1%; and in the irrational beliefs and distorted thoughts related with the use of violence, in 78.2%, 48.2% y 63.6%, for use of violence, gender roles and emotional dependence, respectively. Nonetheless, not all the batterers benefited from treatment.

Conceptualising intimate partner violence perpetrators' cognition as aggressive relational schemas

Abstract The forensic psychology and psychotherapy field recognises offence-supportive cognition as a major dynamic risk factor for reoffending, meaning it is one focus of risk assessment instruments and offender treatment programs. Despite the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV), the cognitive characteristics of IPV offenders have received little theoretical and research attention in comparison to those who engage in violent or sexual offending outside the context of a relationship. To address this gap, this paper draws on social cognitive theory to specify the potential structure, content, and information processing effects of cognition supportive of IPV. We propose that IPV perpetrators possess self-schemas, other-schemas and relational scripts that contain cognition about relationships, gender, and aggression and violence, respectively. In applying the model to IPV, we use established social information processing theory to suggest how such cognitive content is processed in moment-to-moment interactions between IPV perpetrators and their victims in ways that result in violence. The paper provides etiological hypotheses, integrates a broad array of existing literature, and offers a guide for clinicians seeking to formulate and intervene in cognition associated with IPV perpetration.

Motivational Strategies in Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence Offenders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Previous research suggests that the inclusion of motivational strategies in interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders could increase their effectiveness. This review evaluated the effectiveness of interventions for IPV offenders that includes motivational strategies to reduce physical and psychological IPV, treatment dropout, official recidivism to IPV offending, and to increase intervention attendance dose. The present systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using PRISMA guidelines. The following databases were searched from 1983 to 2018 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions for IPV offenders that incorporated motivational strategies for adult participants that included men and included IPV behaviors as outcomes: Cochrane Collaboration, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL. A total 1,134 studies were identified, 12 RCTs were included in the narrative review and 7 in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that IPV interventions that incorporated motivational strategies were significantly more effective in increasing the intervention dose and reducing dropout than interventions without motivational strategies. IPV offenders receiving interventions with motivational strategies were 1.73 times less likely to intervention dropout compared to those in interventions without such strategies. For physical and psychological IPV and official recidivism (e.g., rearrests, police record), evidence favored interventions with motivational strategies, although not significantly. These findings have important practical implications, especially considering the high dropout rates in IPV offender programs and the link between dropout and higher rates of recidivism.