Women's and Men's Context-Based Relationship Violence Intervention Programs: A Weekly Observational Study

PurposeIntimate partner violence (IPV) affects many individuals, including the persons using violence, as they also experience distress that in turn correlates with recidivism. Evidence suggests that relationship violence intervention programs would benefit from considering contexts associated with abusive behavior. The present study evaluated a context-based relationship violence intervention program (RVIP) compared to a nonconcurrent treatment-as-usual program.MethodsParticipants were from an urban mental health clinic, primarily court ordered, and selected into their group by entry time (intervention analytical N = 64-96; treatment-as-usual N = 294). Participants in the context-based intervention received an emotion-focused, interpersonally focused, and trauma-informed treatment that aligned with their individualized goals. Participants in the treatment-as-usual intervention received an emotion-focused and trauma informed group intervention. Participants completed up to 16 weekly mental health and perceived control measures.ResultsRegressions indicated that psychological distress symptoms decreased and personal perceived control increased over time. Per police records, clients in the treatment-as-usual relationship violence intervention programs were more likely to reoffend than clients in the context-based RVIP.ConclusionsRelationship violence intervention programs need to address clients' own histories of trauma and their impact on mental health, behaviors, emotion regulation skills, and sociocultural factors-with assessment tracking along the way. This study has legal and counseling implications.