Social Factors Affecting the Completion of a Batterer Intervention Program

Abstract

From the perspective of social learning theory, factors such as experiences with childhood abuse, witnessing sibling and parental violence, having a distant relationship with one’s father, and experiencing parental divorce were expected to be associated with completion of a 52-week court-mandated batterer intervention program. Archival data from 180 clinical files of adult male batterers, aged 18 and older, who completed at least an intake session from an existing state-approved domestic violence treatment facility in the Los Angeles area, were analyzed. Results from a binary logistical regression showed that none of the independent variables were significant predictors of program completion. However, each independent variable was individually associated with program completion (p < .05). This finding reveals a need to further explore the impact of these variables so that programs can be tailored to meet the specific needs of batterers in treatment. Limitations, clinical implications, and future directions for research are also discussed.