Motivational interviewing as a pregroup intervention for partner-violent men

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Work
• Criminology

Background:

• Domestic abuse perpetrator programs often face challenges with participant engagement and treatment adherence.
• Motivational interviewing (MI) is a counseling approach that aims to help people resolve ambivalence about behavior change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a pregroup motivational interviewing (MI) intake compared to a structured intake (SI) for domestic abuse perpetrators.
• To assess the impact of the intake condition on in-session behavior, homework compliance, therapeutic alliance, help-seeking, and treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• 108 male domestic abuse perpetrators were randomly assigned to either an MI or SI intake.
• Participants then attended a group cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) program.
• Outcomes were measured through therapist ratings, client self-reports, partner reports, and program attendance.

Main Results:

• MI intake resulted in more constructive in-session behavior and greater homework compliance during early group CBT.
• Therapist-rated working alliance was higher in the MI group during later sessions.
• MI also led to increased help-seeking outside the domestic violence program; a marginal effect favoring MI was found for reduced physical assault.

Conclusions:

• A pregroup motivational interviewing intake can enhance engagement and adherence in domestic abuse perpetrator treatment.
• MI may increase receptivity to interventions aimed at reducing abusive behaviors.
• Further research is warranted to explore the long-term impact on abusive behavior reduction.