Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs: a Proposal for Evidence-Based Standards in the United States
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Partner Abuse, Volume 7, Number 4, 2016 Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programs: A Proposal for Evidence-Based Standards in the United States Julia Babcock, PhD Nicholas Armenti, MA University of Houston, Texas Clare Cannon, MA Tulane University School of Liberal Arts, New Orleans, Louisiana Katie Lauve-Moon, MSW Fred Buttell, PhD Tulane University School of Social Work, New Orleans, Louisiana University of the Free State in South Africa Regardt Ferreira, PhD University of the Free State, South Africa Tulane School of Social Work Arthur Cantos, PhD Universidad Carlos Albizu, Puerto Rico John Hamel, LCSW Private Practice, San Francisco, California Don Kelly, MSW Catheleen Jordan, PhD Peter Lehmann, PhD University of Texas at Arlington © 2016 Springer Publishing Company 355 http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.7.4.355 356 Babcock et al. Penny A. Leisring, PhD Department of Psychology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut Christopher Murphy, PhD University of Maryland, Baltimore County K. Daniel O’Leary, PhD Sarah Bannon, BA Katie Lee Salis, MA Ingrid Solano, MA Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, New York In the United States, the judicial system response to violence between inti- mate partners, or intimate partner violence (IPV), typically mandates that adjudicated perpetrators complete a batterer intervention program (BIP). The social science data has found that these programs, on the whole, are only minimally effective in reducing rates of IPV. The authors examined the social science literature on the characteristics and efficacy of BIPs. More than 400 studies were considered, including a sweeping, recently conducted survey of BIP directors across the United States and Canada. Results of this review indicate that the limitations of BIPs are due, in large part, to the limitations of current state standards regulating these programs and, furthermore, that these standards are not grounded in the body of empirical research evidence or best practices. The authors, all of whom have considerable expertise in the area of domestic violence perpetrator treatment, conducted an exhaustive in- vestigation of the following key intervention areas: overall effectiveness of BIPs; length of treatment/length of group sessions; number of group partici- pants and number of facilitators; group format and curriculum; assessment protocol and instruments; victim contact; modality of treatment; differential treatment; working with female perpetrators; working with perpetrators in racial and ethnic minority groups; working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) perpetrators; perpetrator treatment and practitioner– client relationships; and required practitioner education and training. Recom- mendations for evidence-based national BIP standards were made based on findings from this review. Keywords: batterer intervention; intimate partner violence (IPV); domestic violence; perpetrator treatment; batterer intervention program (BIP) standards A Proposal for Evidence-Based Standards 357 Domestic violence, otherwise known as intimate partner violence (IPV), partner vio- lence, or partner abuse (PA), is an important public health issue (Carbone-López, Kruttschnitt, & Macmillan, 2006; Hines, Malley-Morrison, & Dutton, 2013; Krug, Mercy, Dahlberg, & Zwi, 2002; Saltzman, Green, Marks, & Thacker, 2000). Recently, a comprehensive literature review found that approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 5 men are physically victimized by a romantic partner in their lifetime (Desmarais, Reeves, Nicholls, Telford, & Fiebert, 2012a, 2012b). Drawing on a sample of 4,741,000 women and 5,365,000 men, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Sur- vey (NISVS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Black et al., 2011) reported 12-month incidence rates of 4.3 million minor (e.g., slap- ping, pushing) and 3.2 million severe (e.g., punching, beating up) female victimization and 5.1 million minor and 2.2 million severe male victimization. Most partner aggres- sive relationships involve mutual/bidirectional aggression (Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Misra, Selwyn, & Rohling, 2012; Straus & Gelles, 1990). In their sweeping review of the literature, Partner Abuse State of Knowledge (PASK) authors Carney and Barner (2012) reported on 204 studies that provided perpetration rates on emotional abuse, stalking, and sexual coercion. Of these, the most prevalent were found to be various forms of emotional abuse, perpetrated by approximately 80% of respondents across samples. A higher percentage of women compared to men (40% vs. 32%) reported to having perpetrated expressive abuse (e.g., ridiculing, shaming, making derogatory comments), whereas rates of coercive abuse (e.g., threatening to harm, monitoring, isolating) were fairly equal across gender (41% female-perpetrated, 43% male-perpetrated). NISVS (Black et al., 2011) reported higher rates of expressive abuse victimization of women (12.3 million) com- pared to men (10.6 million). Men, however, were more likely to be victims of coercive abuse in comparison to women (17.3 million vs. 12.7 million). Occurring far less frequently than coercive or expressive emotional abuse, stalking behaviors and sexual coercion have a more deleterious impact on victims. According to Carney and Barner (2012), 4.1%–8% of women and 0.5%–2% of men have been physically stalked once or more during their lifetime, of which 33%–50% was perpe- trated by a romantic partner. When nonphysical forms of stalking were considered (e.g., repeated texting, calling the partner at work), gender differences were less pro- nounced. With respect to sexual coercion, national surveys have found a far greater proportion of women than men to have been sexually coerced at some point in their lifetime (4.5% vs. 0.2%). Among dating samples, gender differences not as great for sexual coercion when defined more broadly to include various forms of psychologi- cal coercion, such as intimating that the victim must be a homosexual if he does not agree to have sex, or taking advantage of one’s partner while they are intoxicated. Examinations of the context regarding physically violent episodes indicate that stress, jealousy, anger, retaliation for emotional hurt, and a desire to coerce or control one’s partner are common motivations for both male and female perpetrators (Flynn & Graham, 2010; Langhinrichsen-Rohling, McCullars, & Misra, 2012). Risk factors include young age (younger than 30 years); stress from low income and unemployment; having 358 Babcock et al. an aggressive personality, desire to dominate, poor impulse control, male hostility to- ward women and attitudes that support violence by either men and women; depression, emotional insecurity; alcohol and drug abuse; having witnessed violence between one’s parents as a child, or having been abused or neglected by them; negative peer involve- ment; and being in an unhappy or high-conflict relationship. Except for a higher correla- tion for depression and alcohol use by women in comparison to men, risk factors for IPV are very comparable across gender (Capaldi, Knoble, Shortt, & Kim, 2012). There are many serious consequences of IPV for adult victims, for children who witness parental IPV, and for society as a whole. Consequences of victimization for partners include health problems such as chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, and gynecological problems (Lawrence, Orengo-Aguayo, Langer, & Brock, 2012; Lown & Vega, 2001) as well as physical injuries such as cuts and bruises, broken bones, and concussions (Lawrence et al., 2012; Sutherland, Bybee, & Sullivan, 2002). Psychologi- cal sequelae are also commonly experienced by victims and can include depression, anxiety, stress, posttraumatic stress, substance abuse, and suicidality (Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman 2013; Golding, 1999; Lawrence et al., 2012; World Health Organi- zation, 2013). Children and adolescents who witness partner violence are at increased risk for problems related to anxiety, depression, and aggression (MacDonell, 2012). Societal costs of IPV include an economic impact because of physical and psychological health care needs for victims and their children (Bonomi, Anderson, Rivara, & Thomp- son, 2009; Rivara et al., 2007) as well as absenteeism, tardiness, and decreased produc- tivity and job satisfaction for victims in the workplace (Reeves & O’Leary-Kelly, 2007). POLICIES ON INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE INTERVENTION Beginning in the 1980s, at the behest of advocates for battered women and other concerned citizens, legislatures across the United States began to enact tougher laws that would define domestic assaults, including spousal rape, as crimes and hold per- petrators legally accountable for their actions. In 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA dramatically increased the role of the federal government in the effort to stop domestic violence against women by providing funding and guidance to state and local governments for implementation of more vigorous law enforcement responses; improve coordination among and pro- vide education to police, prosecutors, and judges; and provide funding for shelters and other services dedicated to helping battered women. There is now in place a network of organizations, private and public, on the national, state, and local levels, dedicated to making families safer, including about 2,000 shelters throughout the United States. A review of 135 studies finds that, on average, in the United States, approximately one-third