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This study evaluated whether the use of a multilevel system of intervention based on batterer assessment resulted in lowered risk of re-arrests for both domestic violence and other crimes. The study conducted analysis of data from 1995 to 2004, including initial arrest and program placement information and re-arrest rates for 17,999 individual batterers. The study found that recidivism rates were substantially lower for participants who completed the programs when compared to those who did not and that the re-arrest rates were substantially lower than are generally found in the literature on batterer recidivism. The study provides guidance to batterers intervention programs in approaches to designing countywide programs that are most effective in reducing recidivism in domestic violence batterers.
Keywords: characteristics; family violence; intimate partner violence; treatment; cognitive-behavioral
One of the main objectives of domestic violence offender treatment programs is to decrease the likelihood that future intimate partner assaults will occur. In 2004, an estimated 466,600 women were the victims of violent crimes at the hands of intimate partners, and 198,000 were victimized by another relative. In addition, 111,750 males were the victims of violent crime by an intimate, and 163,700 were victims of another relative (Catalano, 2005). The number of treatment programs for the perpetrators of domestic violence has been growing steadily since their inception in the late 1970s, and the standardization of these programs has similarly been increasing since the 1990s (Babcock, Green, & Robie, 2004).
Historically, intervention for domestic violence focused on the victim, and little attention was paid to the abuser beyond court-mandated sentencing. In the 1970s the focus began to shift to include treating the batterer with the notion that therapy might halt future abuse (Babcock et al., 2004; LaViolette, 2001). Court-mandated counseling was introduced in the 1980s, and thus current programs are often a combination of rehabilitation and punishment. Although there is some divergence, the most widely used approaches are gender-based cognitive-behavioral interventions. Methods to interrupt violence, discussion and communication skills, and overall attitudes toward women are approached through the gender-based perspective of establishing greater respect by the man for his partner (Gondolf, 2000). In addition, the group-based format forces offenders to accept responsibility for their own behavior by confronting one another on issues related to denial and blaming...