NCJ Number
122317
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1989) Pages: 309-322
Date Published
1989
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The literature on abuser treatment programs reveals the following problems: (1) the dominance of shelter-related abuser programs, (2) little understanding of the effectiveness of such programs, and (3) low recruitment and high attrition rates in shelter-related programs.
Abstract
This study attempts to deal with some of these difficulties by an evaluation of a court mandated abuser treatment program. The sample used in this study includes a treatment group of 120 court-referred abusers and a control group of 101 nonreferred abusers. The research was designed to deal with problems such as differential participation in the treatment sessions and self-selection bias. Results indicated that the relationship between treatment attendance and recidivism was not linear. Only those defendants who attended 75 percent of the treatment sessions or more have decreased recidivism; others showed no impact. Policy implications are also discussed. 2 tables, 30 references. (Publisher abstract)