Treating intimate partner violence within intact couple relationships: outcomes of multi-couple versus individual couple therapy.
An experimental design was used to determine outcomes of a domestic violence-focused treatment program for couples that choose to stay together after mild-to-moderate violence has occurred. Forty-two couples were randomly assigned to either individual couple or multi-couple group treatment. Nine couples served as the comparison group. Male violence recidivism rates 6 months after treatment were significantly lower for the multi-couple group (25%) than for the comparison group (66%). In contrast, men in the individual couple condition were not significantly less likely to recidivate (43%) than those in the comparison group. In addition, marital satisfaction increased significantly, and both marital aggression and acceptance of wife battering decreased significantly among individuals who participated in multi-couple group therapy, but not among those who participated in individual couple therapy or the comparison group.
Stith
Sandra M
SM
Human Development Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Northern Virginia Center, Falls Church 20043, USA. sstith@vt.edu
Rosen
Karen H
KH
McCollum
Eric E
EE
Thomsen
Cynthia J
CJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004219:District of Columbia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014768:Virginia