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Programs for Men who Perpetrate Domestic Violence: An Examination of the Issues Underlying the Effectiveness of Intervention Programs

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Abstract

This review paper seeks to explore some of the reasons why rehabilitation programs for male perpetrators of domestic violence appear to be less effective in reducing recidivism than programs for other offender groups. It is argued that while the model of systems response to domestic violence has predominated at the inter-agency level, further consideration might be given to way in which men’s intervention groups are both designed and delivered. It is concluded that the program logic of men’s domestic violence programs is rarely articulated leading to low levels of program integrity, and that one way to further improve program effectiveness is to incorporate some of the approaches evident in more general violence prevention programs and from what is know about good practice in general about offender rehabilitation.

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Notes

  1. Although there has been some discussion, for example, of constructivist views in cognitive therapy which see problems as discrepancies between environmental stressors and current capacities (see DiGiuseppe and Linscott 1993), the focus of cognitive-behavioural interventions tends to be on the individual maladaptive responses or on adaptation to the environment.

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Day, A., Chung, D., O’Leary, P. et al. Programs for Men who Perpetrate Domestic Violence: An Examination of the Issues Underlying the Effectiveness of Intervention Programs. J Fam Viol 24, 203–212 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-008-9221-4

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