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01-11-2009 | Original Article

Outcomes from Referring Batterer Program Participants to Mental Health Treatment

Author: Edward W. Gondolf

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 8/2009

Abstract

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the impact of referral to supplemental mental health treatment for batterer program participants who screened positive for mental health problems. The principal outcome measure was re-assault reported during a periodic 12-month follow-up with female partners (n = 308). Batterer program completion and other abuse indicators were also considered. Mandatory court referral to mental health treatment produced no significant improvement in batterer program completion, re-assault and other abuse indicators. These results may be influenced by the low compliance to the referral, since the select number of men who did comply with a mental health evaluation (n = 48 of 148) and those who received treatment (n = 28 of 148) did better than those who did not. Simplified referral procedures or integrated treatment services might prove to be a more effective approach.

We use the term “domestic violence” to refer to what is more specifically being discussed in much of the research literature as “intimate partner violence.” Domestic violence is more commonly used in the criminal justice system and within criminal codes to refer to intimate partner violence, although the term may include violence against other family members. The setting of this study within the “domestic violence courts” leads to its use here for the purpose of consistency.

The terms “intention-to-treat” and “treatment-received” are generally used with experimental designs but are sometimes used in quasi-experimental designs, like the one employed in this study, to help illustrate the issues associated with the terms. As explained in the text, intention-to-treat refers here to the mandatory referrals from the court to mental health evaluation and treatment. The intent under this reinforced requirement was for the referrals to receive treatment. The “treatment received” represents actual contact with the mental health clinic in the form of evaluation or evaluation and treatment—it is compliance to the referral. The evaluation with a clinician is considered here as part of the “treatment.” Even though it did not technically count as one of the treatment sessions, the referred men generally viewed it as such.

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Title: Outcomes from Referring Batterer Program Participants to Mental Health Treatment
Author: Edward W. Gondolf
Publication date: 01-11-2009
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 8/2009
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9256-1

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Outcomes from Referring Batterer Program Participants to Mental Health Treatment

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