Lyungai F. Mbilinyi

How Children Are Involved in Adult Domestic Violence: Results From a Four-City Telephone Survey

There is limited research available on children’s involvement in incidents of adult domestic violence. This study collected direct reports on real-life events and went beyond earlier research by eliciting information on a larger array of family and contextual factors that may account for variation in children’s responses. Anonymous telephone interviews with 114 battered mothers in four metropolitan areas elicited detailed information from women on their children’s responses to the violence being committed against the mothers. One quarter of the mothers reported that their children were physically involved in the events. In addition, mothers with less stable financial, social, and living situations at the time of the interview reported their children to have intervened more during the past violent incidents. The article concludes with recommendations for a greater emphasis on careful assessment of children’s involvement in domestic violence incidents and on assisting mothers to achieve economic stability as well as safety.

Normative Misperceptions of Abuse Among Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

This research was designed to evaluate the applicability of social norms approaches to interventions with male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants included 124 nonadjudicated IPV perpetrating men recruited from the general population who completed assessment of their own IPV behaviors via telephone interviews and estimated the prevalence of behaviors in other men. Results indicated that IPV perpetrators consistently overestimated the percentage of men who engaged in IPV and that their estimates were associated with violence toward their partner over the past 90 days. Findings provide preliminary support for incorporating social norms approaches into clinical applications.

The Men's Domestic Abuse Check-Up A Protocol for Reaching the Nonadjudicated and Untreated Man Who Batters and Who Abuses Substances

Batterer intervention programs primarily work with individuals mandated to participate. Commonly, attrition is high and outcomes are modest. Motivational enhancement therapy (MET), most widely studied in the substance abuse field, offers a potentially effective approach to improving self-referral to treatment, program retention, treatment compliance, and posttreatment outcomes among men who batter and who abuse substances. A strategy for using a catalyst variant of MET (a “check-up”) to reach untreated, nonadjudicated perpetrators is described in detail. Unique challenges in evaluating the success of this approach are discussed, including attending to victim safety and determining indicators of increased motivation for change.

Self-Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing: Complementary Models to Elicit Voluntary Engagement by Partner-Abusive Men

Research examining intimate partner violence (IPV) has lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding and treating behavior. The authors propose two complementary models, a treatment approach (Motivational Interviewing, MI) informed by a theory (Self-Determination Theory; SDT), as a way of integrating existing knowledge and suggesting new directions in intervening early with IPV perpetrators. MI is a client-centered clinical intervention intended to assist in strengthening motivation to change and has been widely implemented in the substance abuse literature. SDT is a theory that focuses on internal versus external motivation and considers elements that impact optimal functioning and psychological well-being. These elements include psychological needs, integration of behavioral regulations, and contextual influences on motivation. Each of these aspects of SDT is described in detail and in the context of IPV etiology and intervention using motivational interviewing.

A Telephone Intervention for Substance-Using Adult Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Objective: To preliminarily evaluate telephone-delivered motivational enhancement therapy (MET) in motivating unadjudicated and nontreatment seeking intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators, who also use substances, to self-refer into treatment. Method: 124 adult men were recruited via a multimedia marketing campaign and were randomly assigned to the intervention (MET) or comparison group following a baseline assessment. Participants in the MET condition received a personalized feedback report on their IPV and substance-use behaviors, consequences, and social norms beliefs. Results: Results supported the likely effectiveness of MET in short-term reduction of IPV behavior, increasing motivation for treatment seeking, and changing perceived norms for IPV and substance abuse (SA). Conclusions: Applications for brief MET interventions to facilitate voluntary treatment entry among substance-using IPV perpetrators are discussed.

What Happens to Children When Their Mothers Are Battered? Results from a Four City Anonymous Telephone Survey

This article presents results of a study examining what happens to children when domestic violence is committed against their mothers. While many investigations have pointed to child exposure to violence in homes where women are battered, few have examined direct reports about what happens to children when adult domestic violence occurs. This study collected direct reports from mothers on real-life events and was designed to go beyond earlier research by eliciting information on a larger array of family and contextual factors that may account for variation in mother’s and their children’s direct and indirect exposure to violence within the same home. Anonymous telephone interviews with 111 battered mothers in four metropolitan areas across the United States elicited detailed information from women on the violence against them and their children. Findings confirm the seriousness of co-occurring mother and child exposure to violence. The research also revealed that women and children were often injured while trying to protect each other from the abuser. The article concludes by recommending further enhancing collaboration between child protection and battered women’s services; augmenting prevention and early intervention services to families experiencing adult domestic violence; and focusing on protecting and increasing the safety of both children and their battered mothers.

Evaluating the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on the Perpetrator: The Perceived Consequences of Domestic Violence Questionnaire

Surprisingly, little is known about how IPV perpetrators perceive the conse quences of their violent behavior. This article describes the development and evaluation of the Perceived Consequences of Domestic Violence Questionnaire (PCDVQ). The PCDVQ is a 27 item self report instrument designed to assess the consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) as perceived by the perpetrator. Data from 124 nontreatment seeking, male, IPV perpetrators recruited from the community provided support for the internal consistency of the PCDVQ. Participants reported an average of 9.97 (SD = 4.57) consequences. Scores on the PCDVQ significantly predicted motivation for change, β =.19, t(113) = 2.03, p < .05, and treatment seeking, χ2(df = 1) = 10.79, p < .01, odds ratio = 1.27 (95% CI: 1.10 1.46). Clinical implications of this instrument are discussed.

Development of a Marketing Campaign to Recruit Non-adjudicated and Untreated Abusive Men for a Brief Telephone Intervention

Although voluntary enrollment by abusive men in domestic violence perpetrator treatment programs occurs, most men enter treatment only after they have injured a partner or family member and have been arrested, convicted and sentenced. This leaves a serious gap for those who engage in abusive behavior but who have not been served by the legal or social service systems. To address this gap, the researchers applied social marketing principles to recruit abusive men to a telephone-delivered pre-treatment intervention (the Men’s Domestic Abuse Check-Up—MDACU), designed to motivate non-adjudicated and untreated abusive men who are concurrently using alcohol and drugs to enter treatment voluntarily. This article discusses recruitment efforts in reaching perpetrators of intimate partner violence, an underserved population. Informed by McGuire’s communication and persuasion matrix, the researchers describe three phases of the MDACU’s marketing campaign: (1) planning, (2) early implementation, and (3) revision of marketing strategies based on initial results. The researchers’ “lessons learned” conclude the paper.

Normative Misperceptions of Alcohol Use Among Substance Abusing Army Personnel

This research examines discrepancies among perceived norms, actual norms, and own behavior for alcohol in the military. Participants included 159 substance-abusing, active-duty U.S. Army personnel. Participants’ estimates of the average number of drinks consumed by Army personnel were significantly higher than the actual norm. Participants also overestimated the percentage of Army personnel who have engaged in heavy episodic drinking relative to the actual percentage. Participants’ own drinking was associated with their overestimations of other military personnel drinking but not other civilian drinking. Results provide foundational support for the use of military-specific normative feedback as a potential intervention strategy.

Reaching Soldiers with Untreated Substance Use Disorder: Lessons Learned in the Development of a Marketing Campaign for the Warrior Check-Up Study

The Warrior Check-Up, a confidential telephone-delivered intervention, is designed to reach active-duty soldiers with untreated substance-use disorder at a large US military base. This paper describes the development and successful implementation of the studys marketing strategies at the recruitment periods midpoint (2010–2012). Qualitative analyses of focus groups (n = 26) and survey responses (n = 278) describe the process of campaign design. Measures of demographics, media exposure, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression gathered from callers (n = 172) are used in quantitative analysis assessing the campaigns success in reaching this population. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed. Department of Defense provided study funding.