The current study focused on the challenging task of providing treatment to male
batterers and the various factors that may positively affect the outcome of treatment.
Group treatment has been shown to be a successful modality to working with partner
abusers, due to the unique environment that is created where males interact with and
establish relationships with other males. This male-male socialization may have
potential positive effects on the course and outcome of therapy. This study sought to
provide support for Jennings and Murphy’s theory of domestic violence that malefemale
disrupted relationships have roots in disrupted male-male relationships and male
identity issues and rigid gender role ideals. This study predicted that over the course of a
15-week court mandated domestic violence group, improving male-male relationships
would be correlated with improvements in male identity issues and rigid sex role
attitudes and improvements in male-female relationship issues. These expectations were
supported by the research data. Additionally, it was expected that an improvement in
same sex relationships would be related to an overall dimensional change in their
attachment system. This hypothesis was not supported by the data. Moreover, process
variables such as group climate and working alliance were also examined throughout the course of the group to shed light on any changes that were found. The results showed
steadily increasing reports of positive working alliance ratings by counselors and clients,
and increasing levels of group cohesion among the group members. The discussion and
conclusions focus on the clinical significance of the study’s findings and include specific
examples from the groups in this study. Implications for treatment with this population,
limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are also addressed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1457 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Barnes, Ashley D. |
| Contributors | Brossart, Daniel |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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