Mo Yee Lee

Accountability for Change: Solution-Focused Treatment With Domestic Violence Offenders

In this article, the authors discuss and evaluate a solution-focused treatment program for domestic violence offenders. Building on a strengths perspective, a solution-focused approach holds a pers...

Role of Self-Determined Goals in Predicting Recidivism in Domestic Violence Offenders

Objective: This study investigated the role of self-determined goals in predicting recidivism in domestic violence offenders. Method: The study was a posttest design with an annual follow-up of recidivism data of 88 court-mandated batterers who attended a solution-focused, goal-directed treatment program. We hypothesized that goal commitment, goal specificity, and goal agreement would predict recidivism, and that confidence to work on goals would affect the degree to which these factors predicted recidivism. Results: The recidivism rate for program participants was 10.2%, and the final model accounted for 58% of variance in recidivism. The model indicated that goal specificity and goal agreement positively predicted confidence to work on goals, which negatively predicted recidivism. Conclusions: Significance of the study was discussed with respect to the potential positive impact of utilizing self-determined goals, language of “self-determination,” and “strengths and solutions” in batterer treatment as well as advances in social work intervention research.

Self-Determined Goals and Treatment of Domestic Violence Offenders: What If We Leave It Up to Them?

Despite empirical evidence of self-determined goals and positive treatment outcomes, most conventional treatment programs of domestic violence offenders do not use self-determined goals as an integral part of their treatment efforts. The foundation for this article is a qualitative study that used data from 127 domestic violence offenders to explore the content and characteristics of goals that were self-determined by the offenders in a solution-focused, goal-directed treatment program. The emergent themes showed that the self-determined goals developed by offenders focused on self-focused and relational-focused attitudinal change and skills development. Three observed characteristics of these goals revolved around (a) emotional regulation versus cognitive understanding, (b) positively stated versus negatively stated goals, and (c) capacity building versus problem elimination. The implications of findings are discussed with the intention of generating useful dialogues among helping professionals to revisit treatment practices, orientations, and assumptions regarding treatment of domestic violence offenders.