PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Sandra Romant
MA-Research
Summer 2007

Batterer’s Intervention Program Evaluation: Beyond Recidivism Rates

    Using the first wave of data from a longitudinal examination of the impact of batterer’s intervention programs on program participants, this study examined proximal outcomes such as anger management, group cohesiveness, partner dependency, power and control beliefs, personal responsibility, empathy, and understanding effects of abuse as mediators of the relationship between reported time in the program at time one and levels of domestic abuse.  Results indicated that men engaged in low levels of abuse regardless of the reported time in the group.  Results also indicated that anger management, partner dependency, and power and control beliefs were significantly related to levels of abuse, suggesting that BIP programs may wish to focus on changing such beliefs.  Of particular importance was the finding that participants that understood the effects of abuse were more likely to report incidents of abuse.  This suggests that relatively new program participants may be initially denying or minimizing the abuse, thereby masking true levels of abuse among participants in the early states of treatment.

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