Program Profile: Culturally Focused Batterer Counseling (Pittsburgh, PA)

This is a cognitive–behavioral counseling program specifically designed for African American men arrested for domestic violence. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in reassault rates. However, treatment group participants were statistically significantly more likely to be rearrested for domestic violence, compared with control group participants who received conventional counseling.

A No Effects rating implies that implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s).

This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.

Program Goals/Target Population

Culturally Focused Batterer Counseling is cognitive–behavioral group counseling specifically designed for African American men arrested for domestic violence. Culturally focused counseling identifies and addresses cultural issues that may reinforce violence or present barriers to stopping violence, such as prejudice in the criminal justice system, violence and crime in inner-city neighborhoods, and conflicting images of African American manhood. Similar programs have been implemented and studied in several cities, but the specific emphasis here is the culturally focused batterer counseling implemented in Pittsburgh, PA. (Gondolf 2005).

Program Theory

There is research to indicate although African Americans make up at least half of the men arrested for domestic violence and are often referred to batterer counseling programs, their dropout and rearrest rates tend to be higher than that of white men in the same programs. To address these problems, researchers and practitioners have recommended developing a culturally focused counseling curriculum to supplement conventional counseling that was developed primarily for white middle-class men (Williams and Becker 1994; Blake and Darling 1994; Rasheed and Rasheed 1999). However, support for culturally focused counseling comes primarily from cultural issues identified by clinicians and counselors in related fields with some tentative support from outcome studies of culturally oriented counseling. Therefore, justification for the construct (its particular topics and techniques) and its relationship to specific outcomes has not been theoretically and empirically established (Gondolf 2005, 8).

Program Components

Culturally focused batterer counseling is an enhancement of the conventional batterer counseling. Men arrested on domestic violence charges first appear in Pittsburgh Domestic Violence Court for a pretrial hearing. Most men are required to attend 16 weekly group batterer counseling sessions as a stipulation of their bond. The men must appear in court again at 30 and 90 days following the initial court order to verify program compliance. If men fail to show compliance, additional penalties may be incurred. These penalties may include fines, jail time, being held over for full prosecution, or being required to attend additional program sessions. Two unexcused absences result in an automatic dismissal from the program and return to court. To receive credit for attendance, men must arrive by the designated start time of the counseling session and stay for the full 90 minutes. If the men complete the court-ordered counseling program, their assault charges are usually reduced to harassment.

In Pittsburgh, conventional batterer counseling uses a cognitive–behavioral approach and includes topics and discussions that concentrate on the specific behavior of concern (i.e., domestic violence) as well as attitudes and beliefs related to that behavior. The main curriculum topics can include the nature and impact of abuse, the consequences and costs of abuse, taking responsibility for one’s abuse, ways to avoid abusive behavior, and beliefs and attitudes that sustain abusive behavior. Topics regarding domestic violence are presented, followed by exercises, role-plays, or demonstrations. Trained counselors usually lead a racially mixed group of about 15 men in what can be considered a “color blind” approach, meaning the counselors have not received any cultural sensitivity training, they do not pursue cultural issues in group discussions, and they do not introduce any culturally relevant topics. The conventional counseling curriculum concentrates on attitudes and behaviors that theoretically represent commonalities of woman battering and underlie the violent behavior of men regardless of race and ethnicity.

In addition to basic skills and reasons for stopping violent behavior, culturally focused counseling sessions consist of several components to accommodate the cultural issues of African American men. The culturally focused batterer counseling sessions were led by a trained group leader from the Pittsburgh area—in other words, someone from home with whom the men could identify. A set curriculum progressively leads men to and through cultural issues. Some of the topics that are discussed are African American men’s perceptions of the police, relationships with women, sense of African American manhood, past and recent experiences of violence, reactions to discrimination and prejudice, and support from their neighborhoods. If culturally relevant topics do come up during the course of group discussions or individual comments, the topics are elaborated or explored rather than curtailed as tangents or evasion. Counselors are trained to acknowledge the cultural issues that emerge during group discussions and hear out the men’s viewpoints and understand the different styles of interaction and expression.

The culturally focused counseling sessions attempt to draw on positive aspects of African American culture, such as the sense of brotherhood, communal spirit, intuitive insight, spirituality, and ritual. Sessions also include instruction in the fundamental points of antiviolence education at the core of the conventional batterer counseling. The consequences of violence and avoidance techniques are introduced in the orientation session, and later reviewed and reinforced at the beginning of group sessions. Specific beliefs supporting violent behavior (such as men always needing to be in charge or right) are addressed through the curriculum of cultural topics.

Additional Information: Negative Program Effects

An outcome evaluation (described below in Evaluation Outcomes and Evaluation Methodology) compared study participants who were randomly assigned to one of three counseling options: culturally focused counseling in all African American groups; conventional counseling in all African American groups; or conventional counseling in racially mixed groups. Although reassault rates (as self-reported by the study participants’ female partners) did not differ among the three groups, African American men in the culturally focused counseling group were found to be 3.5 times as likely to be rearrested for domestic violence as those in the racially mixed conventional counseling group.

Study 1

Gondolf (2005) conducted an experimental clinical trial to test the effectiveness of culturally focused batterer counseling. The study sample included 503 African American men arrested for domestic violence between November 2001 and May 2003 in Pittsburgh, Pa., and mandated by the Domestic Violence Court to participate in batterer counseling. At program intake, men completed a background questionnaire, the 13-item Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, and the 30-item Racial Identity Attitude Scale, which measured identification with African American culture. Men were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: culturally focused counseling in all African American groups (n = 165); conventional counseling in all African American groups (n = 152); or conventional counseling in racially mixed groups (n = 186). The CrimeSolutions review of this study focused on the differences in outcomes between the culturally focused counseling treatment group and the conventional counseling in racially mixed groups (the control group). There were no significant differences between the three groups on demographics and other characteristics. Forty-three percent of the entire study sample was younger than 30, 26 percent had some college, 56 percent were not living with their partners, 56 percent had been previously arrested for violent crimes other than domestic violence, and 60 percent were unemployed.

There were some men who were reassigned at program intake or during the course of counseling because of scheduling or location conflicts. These reassignments contributed to a larger subsample in the racially mixed option (culturally focused, n = 165; all African American, n = 152; racially mixed, n = 186). In addition, during the start of study recruitment, the probation department began to refer men to the program for 32 weeks (rather than the 16 weeks required by the Domestic Violence Court). The probation referrals amounted to less than 10 percent of the sample (n = 48) and were different from men with court referrals because they had been fully prosecuted, had previously been in a batterer program, and were charged with severe aggravated assault. The total number of study participants who were randomly assigned and had no later reassignment and who were required to attend 16 sessions was 335, or 67 percent of the study sample. However, using intent-to-treat analysis, the total recruited sample of 503 men was used to offer greater statistical power for the multivariate analyses.

The outcome measures of interest were program dropout, reassault, and rearrest for domestic violence. Program dropout was defined as completing less than the court-required 16 weekly sessions. Data was collected from computerized attendance records maintained by the batterer program. Reassault was defined as physical abuse of the study participant’s female partner reported by her during the follow-up interview. It was assessed using a series of open-ended questions and an inventory that included categories from the Conflict Tactics Scale. Two research assistants tracked the women using the contact forms of name and address information obtained from the male study participants at program intake. The follow-up interviews were completed in July 2004, with a 68 percent response rate at 6-month follow-up interviews (n = 343) and a 66 percent response rate for the full 12-month follow-up period (n = 333). Domestic violence rearrests were determined by reviewing the arrest record for each study participant provided by the Pittsburgh Police Department. The criminal counts for each arrest during the 12-month follow-up period were coded as follows: any count for domestic violence; no domestic violence count but other violent offense; no violence-related count, but alcohol- and drug-related count; and no violence-related or alcohol-related count, but another offense.

To test the effect of culturally focused counseling on the outcome measures of interest, cross-tabulations using Chi Square statistics for each outcome variable with the counseling options were computed. The tabulations were repeated with various samplings that accounted for the randomization implementation and program contingencies. Effect sizes were calculated using the statistic Partial Eta Squared derived from a two-way analysis of variance (known as ANOVA). In addition, confirmatory multivariate analyses were conducted to control for the possible influence of the subsample characteristics, randomization implementation, and program context on the outcomes. Forward stepwise logistic regressions with the full recruited sample were computed for the outcome variables. Variables for demographics, relationship status, past behavior, prior domestic violence, past intervention, perceptions of safety, and program dropout were entered into the equation, followed by the counseling option. The author conducted additional analyses to examine the differences in outcomes between the treatment group and an all African American conventional counseling control group, and conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact racial identification made on outcomes.

Comparative Research

Gondolf (2005) conducted additional analyses to examine the difference between the all African American culturally focused counseling treatment group and the all African American conventional counseling control group. There were no statistically significant differences found between the treatment and control groups in reassault or rearrest for domestic violence at the 12-month follow-up.

CrimeSolutions doe not consider comparative research learn more about how CrimeSolutions treats comparative effectiveness research.

Subgroup Analysis

The author also conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact that high racial identification (or a strong belief of one’s race being tied to their identity) might have had on outcomes. For participants who indicated having high racial identification, there were no statistically significant differences found between the treatment and control group in reassault or rearrest for domestic violence at the 12-month follow-up.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Interventions for Persons Who Committed Intimate-Partner Violence: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The practice includes interventions that are designed to reduce partner violence by identifying and changing the thought processes leading to violent acts and teaching new skills to control and change their behavior. These interventions use cognitive behavioral therapy as applied in a domestic violence setting. The practice is rated No Effects in recidivism outcomes for violent offenses and No Effects in reducing victimization.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

	Crime & Delinquency - Violent offenses
	Victimization - Domestic/intimate partner/family violence

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?