TY - JOUR
T1 - Pathways to Seeking Help From a Partner Abuse Intervention Program
T2 - A Qualitative Study of Voluntary and Non-Court-Mandated Latino Men’s Experiences
AU - Davis, Maxine
AU - Fernandez, Bruno
AU - Jonson-Reid, Melissa
AU - Kyriakakis, Stavroula
N1 - Funding Information:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1653-4464 Davis Maxine MSW, MBA, PhD 1 Fernandez Bruno MSW 2 Jonson-Reid Melissa MSW, PhD 3 Kyriakakis Stavroula MSW, PhD 4 1 The University of Texas at Arlington, USA 2 Dominican University, River Forest, IL, USA 3 Washington University in St. Louis, MI, USA 4 Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA Maxine Davis, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, 211 South Cooper Street, Arlington, TX 76013, USA. Email: maxine.davis@uta.edu 11 2019 0886260519884680 © The Author(s) 2019 2019 SAGE Publications Involvement in treatment for intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) perpetration is often limited to those who are arrested and convicted of domestic violence offenses. Consequently, the majority of research into partner abuse intervention programs (PAIPs; also known as batterer intervention programs [BIPs]) has utilized data from court-mandated participants despite the existence of voluntary programs. Therefore, little is known about the experiences of voluntary and non-court-mandated BIP/PAIP participants. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study sought to understand how participants perceived their lived experience in seeking help from a voluntary BIP/PAIP serving Latino men. Men volunteering for this study participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews ( N = 16). The findings reveal that the decision to engage in a BIP/PAIP voluntarily is process laden. Participants described the process as involving a breakdown in the health of their intimate relationship, reaching tipping points at which avoiding help was no longer an option, and locating specific information on where to seek treatment. The findings also reveal that once involved, most participants anticipated and desired to engage in the program long term. This study illuminates the many factors that may contribute to decision-making when men who have acted abusively seek help. Strategies for increasing voluntary BIP/PAIP participation may involve enhancing marketing of services or information for accessing services, and personal relationship building between facilitators and potential participants. batterers domestic violence mental health and violence cultural contexts treatment/intervention child abuse The Catholics for Family Peace Research and Education Initiative in the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America edited-state corrected-proof The authors would like to extend a special thanks to the men who participated in this study and the partnership of The Men’s Group and Hope Family Services Program at St. Pius V parish in Chicago, particularly Fr. Chuck Dahm, Dolores Tapia, Carlos Lopez, and Luiz Chavez. They would also like to thank the scholars who provided feedback on earlier versions of this work and the anonymous reviewers for their insights that helped improve this publication. Finally, they thank the organization that funded this study and their visionary leadership, particularly Drs. Sharon O’Brien and Will Rainford. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided by The Catholics for Family Peace Research and Education Initiative in the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. ORCID iD Maxine Davis https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1653-4464
Funding Information:
The authors would like to extend a special thanks to the men who participated in this study and the partnership of The Men?s Group and Hope Family Services Program at St. Pius V parish in Chicago, particularly Fr. Chuck Dahm, Dolores Tapia, Carlos Lopez, and Luiz Chavez. They would also like to thank the scholars who provided feedback on earlier versions of this work and the anonymous reviewers for their insights that helped improve this publication. Finally, they thank the organization that funded this study and their visionary leadership, particularly Drs. Sharon O?Brien and Will Rainford. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided by The Catholics for Family Peace Research and Education Initiative in the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Involvement in treatment for intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) perpetration is often limited to those who are arrested and convicted of domestic violence offenses. Consequently, the majority of research into partner abuse intervention programs (PAIPs; also known as batterer intervention programs [BIPs]) has utilized data from court-mandated participants despite the existence of voluntary programs. Therefore, little is known about the experiences of voluntary and non-court-mandated BIP/PAIP participants. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study sought to understand how participants perceived their lived experience in seeking help from a voluntary BIP/PAIP serving Latino men. Men volunteering for this study participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews (N = 16). The findings reveal that the decision to engage in a BIP/PAIP voluntarily is process laden. Participants described the process as involving a breakdown in the health of their intimate relationship, reaching tipping points at which avoiding help was no longer an option, and locating specific information on where to seek treatment. The findings also reveal that once involved, most participants anticipated and desired to engage in the program long term. This study illuminates the many factors that may contribute to decision-making when men who have acted abusively seek help. Strategies for increasing voluntary BIP/PAIP participation may involve enhancing marketing of services or information for accessing services, and personal relationship building between facilitators and potential participants.
AB - Involvement in treatment for intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) perpetration is often limited to those who are arrested and convicted of domestic violence offenses. Consequently, the majority of research into partner abuse intervention programs (PAIPs; also known as batterer intervention programs [BIPs]) has utilized data from court-mandated participants despite the existence of voluntary programs. Therefore, little is known about the experiences of voluntary and non-court-mandated BIP/PAIP participants. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study sought to understand how participants perceived their lived experience in seeking help from a voluntary BIP/PAIP serving Latino men. Men volunteering for this study participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews (N = 16). The findings reveal that the decision to engage in a BIP/PAIP voluntarily is process laden. Participants described the process as involving a breakdown in the health of their intimate relationship, reaching tipping points at which avoiding help was no longer an option, and locating specific information on where to seek treatment. The findings also reveal that once involved, most participants anticipated and desired to engage in the program long term. This study illuminates the many factors that may contribute to decision-making when men who have acted abusively seek help. Strategies for increasing voluntary BIP/PAIP participation may involve enhancing marketing of services or information for accessing services, and personal relationship building between facilitators and potential participants.
KW - batterers
KW - child abuse
KW - cultural contexts
KW - domestic violence
KW - mental health and violence
KW - treatment/intervention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074819884&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/0886260519884680
DO - 10.1177/0886260519884680
M3 - Article
C2 - 31686615
AN - SCOPUS:85074819884
SN - 0886-2605
VL - 36
SP - 10454
EP - 10478
JO - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
JF - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
IS - 21-22
ER -