Dropout among perpetrators of intimate partner violence attending an intervention program

ABSTRACT

Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) are some of the most relevant strategies to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV). However, the rate of dropout is significantly high, which may impact the effectiveness of such strategies. Literature has identified several factors associated with BIPs’ dropout; nonetheless findings remain inconsistent. Thus, the aims of this study were to analyse the differences between perpetrators who completed the program and those who droped out, in terms of sociodemographic, violence-related and intrapersonal variables, as well as identify the predictors of dropout. Eighty-three IPV perpetrators completed a set of measures that assessed attitudes toward domestic violence, physical and psychological abuse of a partner, aggression, coping skills, and readiness to change. Variables related to past criminal history and sociodemographics were also colletected. 42.2% of IPV perpetrators failed to complete the intervention program. The results revealed that age and previous convictions by other crimes than IPV discriminated perpetrators who completed the program from those who droped out, such that, being young and having a previous conviction predicted dropout. These findings reveal a need to further analyse the impact of these factors so BIPs can be tailored to meet the specificities of IPV perpetrators and prevent treatment dropout.

KEYWORDS:

• Batterer intervention programs
• dropout
• intimate partner violence
• perpetrators
• preditors

Data availability statement

Data is available upon request to the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). The study was also supported by Grant SFRH/BD/66110/2009 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology awarded to the first author.

Notes on contributors

Olga Cunha

Olga Cunha, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Psychology, Education, and Sports, Lusófona University, Porto, Portugal, and a researcher at the Hei Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab.

Andreia Silva

Andreia Silva, Master, is a researcher at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPD), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal;

Ana Rita Cruz

Ana Rita Cruz, PhD, is an assistant professor at School of Psychology and Life Sciences, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal, and a researcher at the Hei Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab.

Andreia de Castro Rodrigues

Andreia de Castro Rodrigues, PhD, is an assistant professor at ISPA – University Institute (Lisboa), Portugal and a researcher at the William James Center for Research.

Teresa Braga

Teresa Braga, PhD, is a psychologist at Integration and Probation Penitentiary Services, Aisne, France. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or views of the Integration and Probation Penitentiary Services of France.

Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves

Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves, PhD, is an associate professor at the School of Psychology, University of Minho, Portugal, and a researcher at Research Center on Psychology (CIPsi).