Comparing Fathers for Change Individual Therapy for IPV Use to the Duluth Model Intervention in Individual and Group...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Criminology
• Social Work

Background:

• Intimate partner violence (IPV) interventions predominantly use group formats.
• The efficacy of individual interventions for IPV has been under-researched.
• This study addresses the need to test individual versus group approaches for IPV.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot evaluate an individual intervention (Fathers for Change - F4C) for fathers using IPV.
• To compare F4C with individual (Duluth-I) and group (Duluth-G) delivery of the Duluth Model.
• To assess effects on IPV, child discipline, emotion regulation, and therapeutic alliance.

Main Methods:

• 82 fathers referred for IPV treatment were randomized to F4C, Duluth-I, or Duluth-G.
• 18-week, once-weekly treatment with pre/post assessments.
• Outcome measures included emotion regulation, IPV, child discipline, and working alliance.

Main Results:

• Fathers in individual treatments (F4C, Duluth-I) attended more sessions and reported higher working alliance.
• Individual treatments led to greater reductions in IPV compared to group treatment (Duluth-G).
• Only fathers in the F4C group showed significant improvements in emotion regulation.

Conclusions:

• Individual interventions for fathers who use IPV warrant further development and testing.
• Fathers for Change demonstrates potential for improving emotion regulation and reducing IPV.
• This study challenges the assumption that group formats are superior for all IPV interventions.