NCJ Number
101737
Journal
Social Casework Volume: 65 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1984) Pages: 347-353
Date Published
1984
Length
0 pages
Annotation
A group treatment program called Alternatives to Aggression uses assertiveness training, systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, and exploration of the roots of aggression to help battering husbands change their behavior.
Abstract
The model rests on the view that wife abuse results from a mixture of psychological, family, and social factors and that the trait common to men who batter is low self-esteem. The program focuses on changing the man's cognitions and behaviors rather than on intervening in the couple's system. The men meet in groups to help overcome their emotional isolation and to help them learn from others with similar problems. Two social workers or graduate students lead each group of four to eight men. Attendance has been 80 percent, and attrition has been 45 percent from the first point of contact. Recent treatment groups have involved 12 sessions of treatment and 20 sessions of the self-help group Batterers Anonymous. Anonymous weekly evaluations have shown that the participants find all the program components useful. They have particularly noted the relaxation training and role playing. Short-term followup has shown significant drops in levels of depression and sex-role rigidity following treatment. 58 footnotes.