The Responsible Choices for Men IPV Offender Program: Outcomes and a Comparison of Court-Mandated to Non-Court-Mandated Men

ABSTRACT

Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) are a central criminal justice response to men charged for violence against their partners. However, whether or not to offer treatment conjointly to men who are not court mandated to treatment as well as men mandated to attend remains a question. A narrative therapy BIP, “Responsible Choices for Men” (RCM), has been offered at the Calgary Counselling Centre for over 25 years. The demographics of the 964 men, 759 referred by Calgary’s specialized domestic violence courts and 205 who were non-court-mandated and outcomes for both groups after RCM program completion are presented. Treatment outcomes (N = 694) were assessed using the Psychological Assessment Screener (PAS), Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45), Index of Clinical Stress (ICS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, Relationship Beliefs Scale and the Generalized Contentment Scale (GCS), all adjusted for social desirability. Some demographic features differentiated the groups but both mandated and non-court-mandated men significantly improved after the RCM program with small to medium effect sizes. Practice and policy implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Intimate partner violence
• batterer intervention
• referral source
• outcomes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the research staff at the Calgary Counselling Centre and, most importantly, to the men who took part in the Responsible Choices for Men program.

Disclosure of Interest

The authors have no financial or personal relationships that might bias the work being submitted.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board, University of Calgary and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.