Reductions In Partner Violence Research Articles

Parenting for Child Development: The development and preliminary pilot of a parenting intervention to reduce violence against children in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a low-income country experiencing high rates of family violence and child maltreatment. Child protection services are under-developed, and few tertiary-trained social workers are employed by them. A research team was commissioned to develop a parenting programme for implementation in remote provinces. After development and co-design of the programme, a pre- and post-evaluation was conducted in 10 communities to test the programme’s potential to facilitate change. Measures of harsh parenting, family well-being and parental attitudes were translated by experienced academics and administered to parents by a team of staff and students from a local university. Responses were subjected to factor analyses. A series of paired-sample t-tests was conducted to ascertain change in parents’ reported family well-being and use of harsh disciplinary practices (sample n = 159). Encouraging numbers of caregivers attended the programme in all sites. The analysis of change between pre- and post-programme scores revealed statistically significant reductions in verbal abuse and corporal punishment, and in harsh parenting overall, with reductions in partner violence and family difficulties contributing to improvements in family well-being. The evaluation indicates that with further development, this programme could be implemented as a primary prevention measure to complement child protection services. To consolidate the programme’s future implementation by building the pool of trained personnel, links with social work education should be further developed.

Conditional cash transfers and the reduction in partner violence for young women: An investigation of causal pathways using evidence from a randomized experiment in South Africa (HPTN 068): An

Conditional cash transfers and the reduction in partner violence for young women: An investigation of causal pathways using evidence from a randomized experiment in South Africa (HPTN 068): An

Testing a counselling intervention in antenatal care for women experiencing partner violence: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial in Johannesburg, South Africa.

BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) during or before pregnancy is associated with many adverse health outcomes. Pregnancy-related complications or poor infant health outcomes can arise from direct trauma as well as physiological effects of stress, both of which impact maternal health and fetal growth and development. Antenatal care can be a key entry point within the health system for many women, particularly in low-resource settings. Interventions to identify violence during pregnancy and offer women support and counselling may reduce the occurrence of violence and mitigate its consequences.MethodsFollowing a formative research phase, a randomized controlled trial will be conducted to test a nurse-led empowerment counselling intervention, originally developed for high-income settings and adapted for urban South Africa. The primary outcome is reduction of partner violence, and secondary outcomes include improvement in women’s mental health, safety and self-efficacy. The study aims to recruit 504 pregnant women from three antenatal clinics in Johannesburg who will be randomized to the nurse-led empowerment arm (two 30-min counselling sessions) or enhanced control condition (a referral list) to determine whether participants in the intervention arm have better outcomes as compared to the those in the control arm.DiscussionThis research will provide much needed evidence on whether a short counselling intervention delivered by nurses is efficacious and feasible in low resource settings that have high prevalence of IPV and HIV.Trial registrationThe study was registered in the South African Clinical Trials Registry (DOH-27-0414-4720) on 11 August 2014 and in the ISRCTN Registry (ISRCTN35969343) on 23 May 2016).

Women Married by Age 18 May Receive Reduced Benefits from Partner Violence–Reduction Programs

Women Married by Age 18 May Receive Reduced Benefits from Partner Violence–Reduction Programs

Del laberinto hasta el camino hacia la recuperación de la violencia

This article analyses the factors that contribute and impede the cessation or reduction of partner violence. According to the literature review these factors are related to personal and external factors. The external factors are related to the answer given by the social network and social services toward gender violence in couples as well as acceding to material resources. The personal resources are described as coping strategies, resilience and beliefs. It proposes that recovering from violence depends on the possibility that women count with adequate resources and on connecting with personal resources. These external and personal resources can be comprehended as important tools for the implementa

Prevalence and predictors of partner violence against women in the aftermath of war: A survey among couples in Northern Uganda

Violence against women that is perpetrated by an intimate partner prevails as one of the most widespread human rights violations in virtually all societies of the world. Women in resource-poor countries, in particular those affected by recent war, appear to be at high risk of experiencing partner violence. Although there has been a longstanding assumption that organised violence at a societal level is transmitted to an interpersonal level, little is known about the link between exposure to war and familial violence. We conducted an epidemiological survey in 2010 with 2nd-grade students and their male and female guardians from nine heavily war-affected communities in Northern Uganda employing structured interviews and standardized questionnaires. The present study analysed a subsample of 235 guardian couples from seven rural communities in order to determine the prevalence and predictors of current partner violence experienced by women in the context of the past war. Study results revealed a high prevalence of ongoing partner violence experienced by female partners. In the past year, 80% of women reported at least one type of verbal/psychological abuse, 71% were exposed to at least one type of physical abuse, 52% suffered isolation and 23% fell victim to sexual violence. Findings from linear regression analyses showed that women's prior exposure to war-related traumatic events, women's re-experiencing symptoms and men's level of alcohol-related problems were associated with higher levels of partner violence against women. Differential effects of the predictor variables emerged with respect to different subtypes of partner violence. The findings suggest that partner violence against women constitutes a major problem in rural Northern Uganda. Programmes for the prevention and reduction of partner violence against women need to address high levels of hazardous drinking in men as well as women's prior traumatisation. In addition, different patterns of partner violence should be taken into account.

Learning sobriety together: behavioural couples therapy for alcoholism and drug abuse

Among the various types of partner‐ and family‐involved interventions used to treat adults with substance use disorders, Behavioural Couples Therapy (BCT) has garnered the strongest empirical support for its efficacy. During the past thirty years, multiple studies have consistently found married or cohabiting substance‐abusing patients who engage in BCT, compared to traditional individual‐based counselling or partner‐involved attention control treatments, report significantly greater (1) reductions in substance use, (2) levels of relationship satisfaction, and (3) greater improvements in other areas of relationship and family adjustment (e.g. reductions in partner violence, improvements in custodial children's adjustment). In addition to discussing the theoretical rationale for BCT as a treatment of substance abuse, this article describes specific therapeutic techniques used as part of this intervention and summarizes the relevant evaluative empirical literature.

Termination of pregnancy: associations with partner violence and other factors in a national cohort of young Australian women

To examine the associations between termination and other reproductive events, socio-demographic characteristics and experience of violence among a community-based national sample of young Australian women. Using multiple logistic regression, we analysed data from the Younger cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health comprising 14,776 young women aged 18-23 in survey 1 (1996), of whom 9,683 aged 22-27 also responded to survey 2 (2000). We stratified respondents into those aged below 20 and those who were older at survey 1. We compared the characteristics associated with terminations among teenage women in 1996 (survey 1) with those of women aged over 20 in 1996 who had not then reported a termination and who responded to survey 2 in 2000. Finally, we compared the characteristics of women reporting terminations, births, preterm births and miscarriages. Women reporting teenage terminations were more likely to be in a de facto relationship (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.17-3.21), less well educated (OR = 2.32, 95% CI 1.44-3.74), have no private health insurance, and be a victim of partner violence (OR = 3.11, 95% CI 1.76-5.49). Women reporting later terminations were also more likely to be abused by a partner (OR = 3.52, 95% CI 2.14-5.81).The relationship with violence held for the other reproductive events. Partner violence is a strong predictor of termination and other reproductive outcomes among young Australian women. Education has a protective effect. Prevention and reduction of partner violence may reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancy.

Changes in male partner abuser attachment styles in group treatment.

This study examined attachment pattern change of partner violent men over the course of 17 weeks of integrated cognitive-behavioral/psychodynamic group treatment. Results indicated a significant increase in the number of men reporting a secure attachment from pre- to posttreatment. Subsequent analysis indicated that secure-changed men reported significant increases in comfort with closeness and depending on others from pre- to posttreatment. From pre- to posttreatment, insecure and secure-unchanged men reported an increase in avoidance of closeness. Additionally, secure-changed men reported lower anxiety and depression than insecure men at posttreatment. Finally, the total sample reported significant reductions in partner violence from pre to posttreatment. Based on these results, it would be important for clinicians and researchers to distinguish between men who changed to a secure attachment pattern over the course of treatment and securely attached men who remained unchanged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral Couples Therapy for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going

Among the various types of couple and family therapies used to treat substance abuse, Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) has the strongest empirical support for its effectiveness. During the last 3 decades, multiple studies have consistently found participation in BCT by married or cohabiting substance-abusing patients results in significant reductions in substance use, decreased problems related to substance use (e.g., job loss, hospitalization), and improved relationship satisfaction. Recently, investigations exploring other outcomes have found that, compared to traditional individual-based treatments, participation in BCT results in significantly (a) higher reductions in partner violence, (b) greater improvements in psychosocial functioning of children who live with parents who receive the intervention, and (c) better cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness. In addition to providing an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of BCT, methods used with this intervention, and the literature supporting its use, this article also examines the future directions of BCT research for substance abuse. Keywords: couples therapy; drug abuse; alcoholism; intimate partner violence Although alcoholism and drug abuse have been historically viewed as individual problems best treated on an individual basis (e.g., Jellinek, 1960), there has been a growing recognition over the last 3 decades that the family often plays a crucial role in the etiology and maintenance of substance misuse. In turn, increased emphasis has gradually been placed on treating the family, as either a primary or ancillary intervention, to reduce or eliminate abusive drinking or drug use, with the substance-abusing patient's behavior conceptualized and understood as occurring within a family system. In a special report given to the U.S. Congress in the early 1970s, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism described couple and family therapy as "one of the most outstanding current advances in the area of psychotherapy of alcoholism" and called for controlled studies to test the effectiveness of these promising methods (Keller, 1974, p. 161). Since that time, the call to examine family-based treatment approaches for substance abuse has been answered by many different research groups; initially with small-scale studies and, as evidence of effectiveness accumulated, followed by large-scale randomized clinical trials. Taken as a whole, the results of the investigations indicate that the early promise of family treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse has, to a large degree, been realized. As a case in point, meta-analytic reviews of randomized clinical trials have concluded that, compared to individual-based interventions that focus exclusively on the substance-abusing patient, familyinvolved treatments result in higher levels of abstinence, for both alcoholism (O'Farrell & Fals-Stewart, 2001) and drug abuse (Stanton & Shadish, 1997). Although many different types of couple- and family-based interventions are available and have been used with alcoholic and drug-abusing patients, Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) has, to date, the strongest empirical support for its effectiveness (O'Farrell & Fals-Stewart, 2003). In this review, we provide a brief discussion of (a) the theoretical rationale for the use and effectiveness of BCT with substance-abusing patients, (b) typical treatment methods used as part of the BCT intervention with substance-abusing patients and their partners, (c) past and ongoing research findings supporting the effectiveness of BCT in terms of the targeted primary outcome domains (i.e., substance use and dyadic adjustment), and (d) the results of recently completed investigations exploring the effects of BCT on secondary outcomes (i.e., outcomes not primarily targeted by BCT, but deemed to be of considerable importance, such as intimate partner violence, children's emotional and behavioral functioning, and cost outcomes, such as cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness). …

Behavioral Couples Therapy for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going

Among the various types of couple and family therapies used to treat substance abuse, Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) has the strongest empirical support for its effectiveness. During the last 3 decades, multiple studies have consistently found participation in BCT by married or cohabiting substance-abusing patients results in significant reductions in substance use, decreased problems related to substance use (e.g., job loss, hospitalization), and improved relationship satisfaction. Recently, investigations exploring other outcomes have found that, compared to traditional individual-based treatments, participation in BCT results in significantly (a) higher reductions in partner violence, (b) greater improvements in psychosocial functioning of children who live with parents who receive the intervention, and (c) better cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness. In addition to providing an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of BCT, methods used with this intervention, and the literature supporting its use, this article also examines the future directions of BCT research for substance abuse.

Behavioral Couples Therapy for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) is an evidence-based family treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse. The results of multiple studies conducted during the last 3 decades indicate that participation in BCT by married or cohabiting substance-abusing patients, compared to more traditional individual-based interventions, results in greater reductions in substance use, higher levels of relationship satisfaction, greater reductions in partner violence, and more favorable cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness. This review examines the rationale for using BCT, the empirical literature supporting its use, methods used as part of this intervention, and future research directions.