NCJ Number
218147
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 91-100
Date Published
February 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on an evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Education Project (DAEP), which is a group-based domestic abuse intervention program conducted in Burlington, Middlebury, and St. Albans, VT.
Abstract
After completing the program, participants (n=277) reported a positive change in their attitudes about their abusive behavior and stereotypical beliefs about women. Participants were also more motivated to change their behavior because of the effect the abuse has had on their family relationships. These results indicate that this is an effective model for changing attitudes and rationales that underlie abusive behavior in intimate partner relationships. The program's curriculum is based on a number of assumptions. Among the assumptions are that domestic violence is a choice, is supported by sexism and homophobia, involves a wide range of behaviors aimed at controlling the relationship, and is a violation of a woman's human rights. Other assumptions of the program are that batterers continue their abuse because of the benefits they experience from it and that they can change their behavior under a persistent motivation to do so. The curriculum focuses on the wide range of behaviors the men use to control their partners. It aims to increase the men's awareness of the intentions and thinking that support their choices to abuse their partners. It also increases the men's awareness of the impact of their abuse on themselves, their partners, children, and others. Finally, it is intended to increase the men's motivation to change their abusive behavior. A pretest and posttest instrument was developed and implemented to determine short-term change in the attitude of participants and the motivation to change their behavior after completing the 27 sessions of the program. 3 tables and 24 references