Suchergebnisse

Objective: The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate the level of moral reasoning of female batterers beginning court-mandated treatment, (b) investigate whether the current standardized treatment program was effective in altering the level of moral reasoning of female batterers, and (c) determine if there was an association between level of moral reasoning and recidivism at 2 years following treatment completion. Method: The study employed a nonequivalent control group design in examining the moral reasoning level of 91 women court ordered into a standard group treatment program for domestic violence offenders. Results: Analysis of the pretest data indicated that the entire sample of batterers was employing a level of moral reasoning two standard deviations lower than adults in general. Additionally, analysis of the posttest data demonstrated that there was no significant increase in moral reasoning at the conclusion of the treatment program, indicating that the current treatment program was ineffective in influencing moral reasoning. Women were monitored for a period of 2 years following treatment completion and a low positive correlation was found (r = .32) between level of moral reasoning and rearrest. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for enhancing intervention efforts with court-ordered, female batterers were explored and discussed.

Objective: This study evaluated the impact of a standard cognitive-behavioral group treatment program on altering levels of moral reasoning among court-ordered batterers. Method: The study employed a nonequivalent control group design in examining the moral reasoning level of 32 adult men, 84% African American, court ordered into a standard group treatment program for domestic violence offenders. Results: Analysis of the pretest data indicated that the entire sample of batterers was employing a level of moral reasoning two standard deviations lower than adults in general. In addition, analysis of the posttest data demonstrated that there was no significant increase in moral reasoning at the conclusion of the treatment program. These findings indicated that the current treatment program was ineffective in influencing moral reasoning. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for providing a culturally relevant theoretical framework to approach intervention with court-ordered batterers are explored and discussed.

Objectives: This study investigated to what degree social work was represented in the position of chair of social–behavioral institutional review boards (IRBs) at very high research activity (VHRA) universities in the United States. Method: We collected data on IRB rosters for all 108 schools designated by the Carnegie Foundation as VHRAs in the United States and analyzed the percentage of chairs for social–behavioral IRBs that came from social work. Results: Data (104 of the 108 VHRA universities) indicate only 3.8% of chairs come from social work. Conclusions: Universities would benefit from more social workers serving as chairs of social–behavioral IRBs because social work has a professional obligation to ethical and just research and is the most holistic of the social sciences. The background and training of professional social workers have obvious benefits in accessing and understanding the unique risks posed by the diverse proposals IRBs receive.

The Elizabeth Wisner Social Welfare Center for Families and Children is a community-based research center within the School of Social Work at the Tulane University. The Wisner Center primarily supports research projects that examine the causes and consequences of intimate partner violence, promote the development of new frameworks for understanding family violence, and utilize findings from research to inform interventions directed at reducing violence in families and communities. This article describes the history, structure, and funding resources of the Wisner Center and offers an overview of affiliated research projects and publications. Finally, this article illustrates the vital role of the Wisner Center in promoting the research agendas of junior faculty competing for funding within the Tulane University's decentralized management center model.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to (a) evaluate the relative effectiveness of wraparound services versus conventional services for juvenile delinquent youth and (b) create a predictive model that would assist the juvenile court system in correctly identifying youth at greatest risk of reoffending. Method: The study employed a pretest/posttest, control group design, with 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up assessments, of 141 youth court-ordered into community-based treatment programs for delinquent youth. Results: Analysis indicated that few of the variables studied differentiated between wraparound services recipients and conventional service recipients. However, a logistic regression model was developed that correctly predicted recidivism for 79% of the sample at the 6-month follow-up assessment (chi-square = 27.211, df =6, p = .0001) and 78% of the sample at the 18-month follow-up assessment (chi-square = 16.453, df =8, p = .036). Conclusions: Implications of the findings for improving community-based juvenile diversion programs for delinquent youth were explored and discussed.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychosocial predictors of propensity for abusiveness among a large sample of women ordered into a 26-week batterer intervention program (BIP). Method: The study employed a nonequivalent, control group design (comparing program completers to dropouts) in a secondary analysis of 485 women. Results: Analysis indicated that (1) there were no significant differences between program completers and dropouts on their propensity for abusiveness. (2) There are specific family of origin indicators associated with higher levels of propensity for abusiveness among women batterers. (3) Family of origin indicators leading to increased propensity for abusiveness were significantly different among racial groups. Conclusion: These findings reveal characteristics of women batterers, as they relate to the propensity for abusiveness and provide preliminary evidence suggesting exposure to various forms of violence in family of origin helps explain the use of violence by adult women against their intimate partners.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate differences in demographic and psychological variables between treatment completers and dropouts among abusive men entering a court-mandated treatment program and (b) evaluate the goodness of fit of a logistic regression model for predicting attrition developed on a 16-week program by applying that model to the 26-week program. Method: The study employed a secondary analysis of 1,702 men, 850 completers and 852 dropouts, randomly selected from a larger pool of 3,595 men in court-ordered treatment. Results: Analysis indicated that few of the demographic and psychological variables differentiated between completers and dropouts. A logistic regression model for the 26-week program was developed that correctly predicted treatment completion for 60% of the sample and that employed some of the same predictor variables as the 16-week model. Conclusion: Implications for predicting attrition using logistic regression models for enhancing retention rates were explored and discussed.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to (a) evaluate a 16-week batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse between pretreatment and posttreatment assessments in a sample of women involuntarily placed in treatment and (b) to investigate the differential effectiveness of this same batterer intervention program for African American and White batterers. Method: The study employed a secondary analysis of 59 treatment completers. Results: The findings of this study suggest that the court-ordered batterers constituting this sample demonstrate significant changes, in the desired direction, on psychological variables related to domestic violence, as a result of participation in a court-mandated treatment program, and there was no significant difference in terms of magnitude of change on these same psychological variables between African American and White batterers, indicating that the treatment program was reaching both groups equally well. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for social workers were explored and discussed.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to (a) evaluate a 26-week batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse (i.e., truthfulness, violence, lethality, control, alcohol use, drug use, and stress coping abilities) between pretreatment and posttreatment assessments in a large sample of men involuntarily placed in treatment and (b) investigate the differential effectiveness of this same batterer intervention program for African American and Caucasian batterers. Method: The study employed a secondary analysis of 850 treatment completers. Results: The findings of this study suggest that the court-ordered batterers comprising this sample demonstrate significant changes in the desired direction on psychological variables related to domestic violence, as a result of participation in a court-mandated treatment program, with no significant difference in terms of magnitude of change on these same psychological variables between African American and Caucasian batterers. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for social workers were explored and discussed.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to (a) evaluate a 26-week batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse (i.e., truthfulness, violence, lethality, control, substance use, and coping abilities) between pretreatment and post treatment assessments in a sample of men involuntarily placed in treatment and (b) to investigate the differential effectiveness of this same program for African American and Caucasian batterers. Method: The study employed a secondary analysis of 142 treatment-completers who were randomly selected from a larger pool of 733 men. Results: Analysis failed to provide empirical support for the contention that both African American and Caucasian batterers would demonstrate significant changes, in the desired direction, on psychological variables related to violence, as a result of their participation in a 26-week batterer treatment program. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for social workers are explored and discussed.

The purpose of the study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse (i.e., truthfulness, violence, lethality, control, and stress coping abilities) between pretreatment and posttreatment assessments in a sample of women involuntarily placed in treatment. This study evaluated arrest records for a period of 12 months following treatment completion to determine the association between changes on these psychological variables and recidivism. The study employed a secondary analysis of 26 treatment completers involuntarily referred into treatment for domestic violence offenses. Analysis indicated that treatment completers were less passive/aggressive and less likely to use physical force on their partners at the conclusion of the treatment program. Implications of the findings for social workers providing treatment services to female domestic violence offenders are explored and discussed.

This study's goals were to (a) evaluate a batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse (i.e., truthfulness, violence, lethality, control, substance use, and coping abilities) between pretreatment and posttreatment assessments of men involuntarily placed in treatment and (b) investigate the differential effectiveness of this same program for African American and Caucasian batterers. Arrest records were also evaluated 12 months following treatment completion to determine the association between changes on these psychological variables and recidivism. The study employed a secondary analysis of 76 treatment completers randomly selected from a larger pool of 184 men. Analysis failed to provide empirical support for the contention that both African American and Caucasian batterers would demonstrate significant changes in the desired direction on psychological variables related to violence as a result of participation in a treatment program. Implications of the findings for social workers were discussed.