NCJ Number
221164
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 12 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2007 Pages: 644-657
Date Published
November 2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article counters Dutton and Corvo's claims regarding the ineffectiveness of the Duluth Model for batter intervention, which is based on cognitive-behavioral counseling, reinforcement by the criminal justice system, and coordination of additional community services.
Abstract
The Dutton and Corvo article entitled "Transforming a Flawed Policy" (2006), which denounces the so-called Duluth Model of batterer intervention for being based on oversimplified assumptions and devoid of research support, attacks their own distorted caricature of the model rather than its actual development and implementation over the years. In fact, there is psychological theory and criminal justice research that support the Duluth Model and its effectiveness. Moreover, developments in the field contradict Dutton and Corvo's claims that the Duluth Model has an "iron-clad" hold that is impeding progress. Since the Duluth Model focuses on treatment for male batterers, Dutton and Corvo reviewed national family violence surveys that apparently indicated that women were as violent as men in their intimate relationships, thus rejecting the Duluth assumptions regarding "male privilege" or male "power and control" as ideological rather than research-based. They fail to mention, however, that responsible researchers continue to question the gender-neutral findings from these surveys because of their lack of context, motive, and consequence of the violence they identify. Dutton and Corvo also criticized the Duluth cognitive-behavioral therapeutic (CBT) counseling approach as not being therapeutic, shaming clients, and showing no effective outcomes. Several research reviews and meta-analyses in the criminal justice field, however, assert that CBT is effective with violent criminals and criminal populations in general. The most recent meta-analysis reinforced the conclusion of others in stating, "The evidence summarized in this article supports the claim that cognitive-behavioral treatment techniques are effective at reducing criminal behaviors among convicted offenders" (Wilson, Bouffard, & Mackenzie, 2005, p. 198). 124 references