No abstract

Clear directions about best strategies to reduce recidivism among domestic violence offenders have remained elusive. The current study offers an initial evaluation of an RNR (Risk, Needs, and Responsivity)-focused second-responder program for men accused of assaulting their intimate partners and who were judged as being at moderate to high risk for re-offending. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare police outcomes for 40 men attending a second-responder intervention program to 40 men with equivalent levels of risk for re-offense who did not attend intervention (comparison group). Results showed that there were significant, substantial, and lasting differences across groups in all outcome domains. In terms of recidivism, rates of subsequent domestic-violence-related changes were more than double for men in the comparison group as compared with the intervention group in both 1-year (65.9% vs. 29.3%) and 2-year (41.5% vs. 12.2%) follow-up. Changes in the rates of arrest were consistent with reductions in men's general involvement with police, with men in the intervention group receiving fewer charges for violent offenses, administrative offenses, and property offenses over the 2 years following intervention than men in the comparison group. Not surprisingly, these differences result in a much lower estimated amount of police time with intervention men than for comparison men. Results are discussed with reference to the possible impact of sharing information with men about their assessed risk for re-offending within a therapeutic justice context.

More resources should be allocated to support persons with mental illness in the community because they tend to have high rates of repeated police contacts for a variety of offenses. The findings highlight the need for gender-specific intervention programs. Administrative databases can be useful tools in examining police contacts among persons with mental illness and monitoring change after policy and program implementation for those at risk of police encounters.

More resources should be allocated to support persons with mental illness in the community because they tend to have high rates of repeated police contacts for a variety of offenses. The findings highlight the need for gender-specific intervention programs. Administrative databases can be useful tools in examining police contacts among persons with mental illness and monitoring change after policy and program implementation for those at risk of police encounters.

This longitudinal study explored changes in women's health after separation from an abusive partner by characterizing the trajectories of their mental health (depression and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) and physical health (chronic pain) over a 4-year period. We examined how the severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) affected these trajectories, controlling for selected baseline factors using 5 waves of data collected from a community sample of 309 English-speaking, Canadian women. IPV severity was measured using the Index of Spouse Abuse where women were asked to consider the entire period of their partner relationship up to present at wave 1 and to rate their IPV experiences in the previous 12 months at waves 2-5. Mental health was measured using established self-report measures of depression (CESD) and PTSD (Davidson Trauma Scale), while chronic pain was measured using the Chronic Pain Grade Scale. Trajectories were estimated using MLM techniques with severity of IPV and selected co-variates (time since separation, age, financial strain) included. Our results show that women's health improved significantly over time, although significant levels of depression, PTSD symptoms and disabling chronic pain remained at the end of wave 5. Regardless of time since separation, more severe IPV was associated with higher levels of depression, PTSD, and disabling chronic pain, with IPV having a stronger effect on these health outcomes over time, suggesting cumulative effects of IPV on health. The results of this study contribute to quantifying the continuing mental and physical health burdens experienced by women after separation from an abusive partner. Increased attention to the long-term effects of violence on women's health beyond the crisis of leaving is critically needed to strengthen health and social services and better support women's recovery and healing.