Comparing a Fatherhood Focused Individual Intervention to Batterer Intervention to Reduce IPV and Child Maltreatment

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: This randomized trial will test a newly developed intervention aimed at fathers who have a history of family violence compared to a standard batterer intervention program.

Detailed Description: This study will expand on Fathers for Change (F4C), a novel intervention for fathers with histories of perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV). F4C is designed to meet a significant unmet intervention need for fathers who have a history of family violence who are not helped by currently available batterer intervention programs (BIPs). BIPs that are currently available nationally have shown limited efficacy with high rates of repeat violence.

This project will provide needed data to further develop F4C and move to a Stage II efficacy trial by: 1) revising the BIP group intervention manual to be delivered in an individual treatment format; 2) develop a fidelity measure for F4C and the BIP; 4) conduct a stage 1b randomized trial (consistent with the stage model of intervention development) to show initial feasibility, acceptability and intervention signal with the targeted population.

Sixty fathers with a history of IPV who have already failed a treatment as usual group BIP will be randomly assigned to F4C or an individually delivered comparable dose of BIP. Reflective functioning and emotion regulation will be examined as the mechanisms through which Fathers for Change reduces IPV and child maltreatment risk behaviors.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

A reported an incident of IPV (pushing, slapping, kicking) within the last 12 months prior to screening (based on court/police records, partner or self- report);
have at least one biological child aged 6 months to 7 years with whom they have contact in person or by phone/facetime etc. at least monthly;
are able to complete assessments in English;
agree to have their female coparents (mother of the youngest child) contacted as collateral informants and for consent for participation of their shared child.

Exclusion Criteria

Men who have an active full/no contact protective order pertaining to their child since this will preclude participation in the father-child play assessment (many men will have full no-contact orders with their partners, but it is more common for men to still be allowed at least supervised contact with their children even with a full/no contact order with their partner);
physiological addiction to a substance that requires detoxification. Fathers will be evaluated using the Addiction Severity Index and urine toxicology screens. If fathers report difficulties with physiological withdrawal from substances (e.g. delirium tremens, shaking, nausea) they will be referred for detox services. They can be re-evaluated following a detox program with documentation from the detox center of successful completion and clean urine screen.;
anyone with a cognitive impairment that will not allow for understanding of the study interventions (a mini mental state score <25);
anyone with a current untreated psychotic disorder;
anyone currently suicidal or homicidal based on screening using the BSI.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
F4C	F4C	Participants randomized to the Fathers for Change (F4C) program.
BIP	BIP	Participants randomized to the Batterer Intervention Program (BIP).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Completion Rate	18 weeks	To test the hypothesis that fathers randomized to F4C will have higher completion rates than those in the individual BIP treatment, chi-square analysis will be used to examine between group differences in treatment completion.
Working Alliance Inventory Sum Score	8 weeks	To test the hypothesis that fathers randomized to F4C will report greater overall working alliance, analysis of variance will be used to test between group difference in overall working alliance between F4C and BIP at week 8 of intervention (approximately mid-point). The Working Alliance Inventory (WAI-therapist version) will be used to measure working alliance among clinicians and clients. The WAI for therapists measures the strength of the working alliance with the client with 36 items utilizing a 5-point Likert scale. The minimum score is 0, the maximum score is 180. Higher sum score indicates a stronger working alliance.
Client Satisfaction Sum Score	18 weeks	To test the hypothesis that fathers randomized to F4C will report greater overall satisfaction, analysis of variance will be used to test between group difference in overall client satisfaction between F4C and BIP. Satisfaction scores range from 2 to 8 with 8 indicating greater overall satisfaction with the services received.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Emotional Regulation	Baseline and 18 weeks	Emotional regulation will be assessed with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-short form (DERS-SF). The DERS-SF is an 18-item self-report measure scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale where higher scores indicate greater difficulty in emotional regulation. Scores range from 18-90.
Intimate Partner Violence	18 weeks	The TimeLine Follow-back-Spousal Violence will be used to characterize the frequency of intimate partner violence.
Reflective Functioning	Baseline and 18 weeks	Reflective functioning will be assessed using the Parent Development Interview-Revised (PDI). The PDI is a 40-item semi-structured interview that assesses reflective functioning through questions about child-rearing and the ways respondents are like or unlike their own parents. Interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for scoring. Interviews are coded on a scale of 1 to 9 with 1 being poor and 9 being excellent reflective functioning. A score of 3 or less is considered very poor.
Child Maltreatment	18 weeks	Child maltreatment risk will be assessed using TimeLine Follow-back to assess the frequency of behaviors characterized as child maltreatment.