Testing Whether Culture Moderates Batterer Intervention Program Retention and Outcomes Rates

• In Event: Intimate Partner Violence: Prevention and Intervention

Abstract

The inclusion of batterer intervention programs as a part of a community’s comprehensive approach to addressing intimate partner violence is widespread in the United States. Criminal justice agencies throughout the county routinely refer those that they arrest for domestic violence to therapeutic intervention programs as part of pretrial diversion or a component of sentencing. However, some suggest that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to these interventions cannot accommodate the diverse population of batterers entering the criminal justice system. One such approach that some now advocate for are those that utilize culturally competent curricula for their criminal justice clients (both domestic violence victims and offenders). Yet, the evidence supporting the investment in these programs is sparse. This paper will report the results of a series of tests that are intended to show how well one culturally focused batterer program retains its clients and produces long-term behavior changes. The analyses will illustrate both the direct effect of the program on key outcomes, and whether the program effects are moderated by the client’s cultural embeddedness.

Authors

• Christopher D. Maxwell, Michigan State University

• LaShawndra Patterson, Michigan State University