Dropout and recidivism are partly explained by emotional decoding and perspective taking deficits of intimate partner violence perpetrators

Abstract

Professionals and researchers have dedicated important efforts to understanding the underlying factors that explain the failure to complete interventions (dropout) and the recidivism of men convicted of intimate partner violence (IPV) against their female partners. There is a growing interest in measuring emotional decoding and empathic deficits in IPV perpetrators to better understand dropout and recidivism proneness, due to their direct impact on behavioral regulation. In the current study, we first aimed to examine whether the emotional decoding abilities of facial expressions and empathic abilities (cognitive and emotional), as well as their interrelationships in IPV perpetrators (n = 561), would explain dropout, treatment attendance, and recidivism (risk and official) once treatment ended. Our results allowed us to conclude that emotional decoding abilities and perspective taking (cognitive empathy) were significantly and negatively associated with dropout and recidivism. Two moderation models were significant. On the one hand, participants with low emotional decoding abilities presented lower intervention doses the lower their perspective taking. Furthermore, the percentage of participants that reoffended was higher among individuals with low and moderate perspective taking who dropped out. Therefore, our study highlights the importance of conducting emotional decoding and empathic assessments during the initial stages of intervention programs to clearly outline the therapeutic needs of IPV perpetrators. This would allow designing coadjuvant and complementary training programs that can support the main interventions by increasing treatment adherence and, in turn, reducing the risk of recidivism.