Freeing Chinese Abused Women From Stereotype: A Pretest-Posttest Comparison Study on Group Intervention in Refuge Centers

ABSTRACT

Objective:The efficacy of heal-change group (HCG) intervention—brief trauma-recovery group intervention applying a gender-specific cognitive behavioral approach—for Chinese-abused women in refuge centers was examined in a pretest-posttest comparison study.

Methods: A total of 100 women at three refuge centers in Hong Kong participated. Among them, 50 women from two centers joined the HCG and 50 women from the remaining center participated in a comparison mutual support group. Participants and interviewers were blinded to the group assignment. Both groups were six sessions long. Linear regression analyses were performed using the intention-to-treat framework.

Results: Significant improvements in PTSD symptoms (overall mean change of −1.6, p < .001; subdomain scores; p < .001 to < .01) and depressive symptoms (BDI-II mean change; p < .01) were recorded in the intervention group.

Conclusion: The results suggest HCG is beneficial to Chinese-abused women. Further research is needed to determine the intervention’s effectiveness in improving longer-term outcomes in these women.

KEYWORDS:

• Abuse women
• intimate partner violence
• group intervention
• gender-specific intervention