Multiple Perspectives on How Intimate Partner Violence Surrogate Impact Panels Affect Abusive Partners.

Restorative justice programs, including surrogate impact panels, are increasingly used to address intimate partner violence (IPV) but research has not assessed adequately how panels may affect participating abusive partners. This article reports the perceived impacts of surrogate impact panels on justice-involved individuals (JIIs) who attended a panel as part of their batterer intervention programs (BIPs) using surveys of JIIs (N = 289) and focus groups or interviews with panelist speakers, JIIs, and BIP providers. Findings suggest that JIIs can connect with speakers, reach new understandings of IPV, and express emotional impact/intent to change. The findings can inform decisions to use panels as part of IPV interventions.

A human diversity analysis of culture and gender in Asian American men's intimate partner violence perpetration.

This integrative literature review aims to fill the gap in our understanding of the cultural and gendered predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by Asian American men. A comprehensive search using PsycINFO returned N = 24 peer-reviewed journal articles that examine Asian American men's IPV perpetration and patriarchal gender role norms and that met inclusion criteria. Patriarchal gender role norms consistently predicted IPV perpetration. However, the associations between acculturation/enculturation and IPV perpetration were less clear. Greater enculturation (Asian cultural identification) was associated with more patriarchal gender role norms while greater acculturation (mainstream US cultural identification) was associated with more masculine gender role strain. Additionally, violence in the family of origin consistently predicted later IPV perpetration as an adult. Results suggest that integrating multiple dimensions of human diversity (e.g., culture, gender, and power) in intersectional models may best explain Asian American men's IPV perpetration.

Work-Related Intimate Partner Violence, Acculturation, and Socioeconomic Status Among Employed Mexican Men Enrolled in Batterer Intervention Programs.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been shown to have considerable effects on women's employment and health. The purpose of this study was to examine work-related IPV, acculturation, and socioeconomic status (SES) among Latinos enrolled in batterer intervention programs. Findings indicate that 55% of men interfered with their partner's ability to get to their work, to do their work, and to maintain their job. Positive relationships between acculturation and work-related IPV were observed, and some support was found for a moderating role of SES. Implications for employers and for the conceptualization of violence against women in an employment context are discussed.

Barriers to compliance with Oregon batterer intervention program standards.

Although standards for batterer intervention programs (BIPs) have been adopted in nearly all U.S. states, there is no evidence that standards are implemented and no information about challenges programs may encounter in efforts to comply with standards. This study uses qualitative survey data from BIPs in the state of Oregon (N = 42) to identify barriers to implementation during a 2-year period following the introduction of state standards. Nine challenges were identified including difficulty finding qualified facilitators, inadequate funding, difficulty meeting training requirements, high workloads, trouble creating and maintaining collaborations, inability to accommodate diverse participant needs, conflict between state standards and county requirements, and perceived gaps between standards and evidence-based practices. These findings inform controversy surrounding BIP standards and efforts to increase BIP effectiveness.

The impact of legislative standards on batterer intervention program practices and characteristics.

Changes in social policy are often pursued with the goal of reducing a social problem by improving prevention efforts, intervention program practices, or participant outcomes. State legislative standards for intimate partner violence intervention programs have been adopted nearly universally across the US, however, we do not know whether such standards actually achieve the intended goal of affecting programs' policies and practices. To assess the effect that batterer intervention program (BIP) standards have on policies and practices of programs, this study used longitudinal surveys collected as part of an ongoing evaluation conducted from 2001 to the present to compare intervention program (N = 74) characteristics and practices at three time points before and after the adoption of standards in Oregon. Analyses were conducted to examine all BIPs in Oregon at each time point, as well as change among a subset of programs in existence at all survey assessments. Results indicate that across all programs, the use of mixed gender group co-facilitation increased by 14% between 2004 and 2008, while program length increased by approximately 12 weeks. However, other practices such as programs' coordination with community partners were unchanged. Analyses of within-program change revealed fewer differences, with only program length increasing significantly over the three assessments. These and other findings indicate that while standards affected program length as intended, other practices commonly addressed by legislative standards remained unchanged. The findings provide needed information regarding programs' compliance with components of the standards, the potential need for compliance monitoring, and the potential impact of state standards on program effectiveness and on the prevalence of intimate partner violence.

Patterns of work-related intimate partner violence and job performance among abusive men.

This study assesses different types of work-related intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and their relationship to perpetrators' work performance and employment. We determine if groups of abusive men with similar patterns of work-related IPV exist and then examine whether the patterns are related to their characteristics, job performance, and employment outcomes. Participants were 198 adult men (60% Latino, 40% non-Latino) from batterer intervention programs (BIPs) who self-reported their lifetime work-related IPV and job outcomes. Five distinct clusters were identified and named based on the pattern (predominance or absence) of different work-related abusive behaviors reported: (a) low-level tactics, (b) job interference, (c) job interference with threatened or actual violence, (d) extreme abuse without jealousy and (e) extreme abuse. Analyses revealed significant differences between the clusters on ethnicity, parental status, partner's employment status, income, education, and (among Latinos only) acculturation. The probability of men's work-related IPV substantially impacting their own job performance was nearly 4 times greater among those in the extreme abuse cluster than those in the low-level tactics cluster. These data inform the development of employee training programs and workplace policies for reducing IPV that affects the workplace.

Dimensions of support among abused women in the workplace.

The authors draw on social support theory to examine supervisor support match (support wanted and received), support mismatch (support not wanted and received) and work outcomes for abused low-wage working women, and to determine if supervisor support match and mismatch are more strongly associated with work outcomes than global supervisor support Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a community sample of abused, employed women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year (N = 163). Using hierarchical regression, we found, after accounting for global supervisor support; a higher level of supervisor support match was associated with greater job satisfaction, fewer job reprimands and less job termination. Findings from the study inform theories of social support and have practical implications for workplace interventions for IPV.

Interdisciplinary linkage of community psychology and cross-cultural psychology: history, values, and an illustrative research and action project on intimate partner violence.

An analysis of the respective organizational histories, missions, and scholarly activity of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology and the Society for Community Research and Action was conducted in order to inform the development of interdisciplinary linkages between members of the two organizations. The analysis revealed many points of shared values and actions, as well as some important differences. Both scholarly organizations developed out of a similar historical and cultural zeitgeist in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The missions emphasize the role of culture/diversity in psychological phenomena, adopting an interdisciplinary orientation, the value of collaboration, the importance of research method and ethics, and the value of action research. However, community psychology generally lacks an adequate treatment of cultural phenomena while cross-cultural psychology often fails to draw on community and participatory methods useful for understanding culture in context. These common roots and differences are examined. Finally, we describe a community based, participatory research and intervention project to address intimate partner violence among Latinos and European-Americans living in Oregon. Analysis of the research process and on some of our initial findings illustrates challenges and potential benefits of an interdisciplinary, cultural community psychology.

Healing men and community: predictors of outcome in a men's initiatory and support organization.

Men have poorer health and declining social outcomes when compared to women, and research suggests that behaviors related to restrictive and traditional male gender roles contribute to this disparity. This study is an examination of The ManKind Project International (MKPI), a community-based organization that provides alternative male gender norms and a community support system to help reinforce them. The MKPI runs an intensive, experiential "Training Adventure Weekend" (TAW), followed by voluntary, on-going peer-led support and integration groups (I-Groups). One hundred men completed a pre-TAW questionnaire, an interview, and a long-term follow-up (>18 mo.) questionnaire. The study examined if there was change on the primary study variables at follow-up, and the relationship of background characteristics (age, self-help group experience) and factors related to participation (MKPI beliefs, social support, I-Group participation) to the criterion variables (depression symptoms, gender role conflict, and life satisfaction) at follow-up. Results indicated significant change in the expected directions on the primary study variables, suggesting that for these men, participation has a positive impact. Most importantly, changes in MKPI-related beliefs and social support significantly predicted positive outcomes. Also, more positive outcomes were found among men 30-44 years of age, but not among those with more prior self-help experience or I-Group participation. Possible explanations for these findings and directions for further research are discussed.

A community psychology of men and masculinity: historical and conceptual review.

This paper introduces the special section by presenting a historical and conceptual review of theory and research on the psychology of men and masculinity and then introducing the section's papers. Men have power because of their gender, but differ in access to power based on other individual characteristics such as social class, income, education, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical strength. Men typically have been studied as generic rather than gendered beings in psychology. In contrast, a gendered analysis of men highlights the ways in which men's experience, masculinity, and behavior contribute to health and social problems and to resources commonly addressed by community psychologists. Our gendered analysis suggests ways of working with men in group, organizational, and community settings to create positive individual and social change. Crucial to this analysis is the paradox that enacting masculinity both privileges and damages men. A second paradox stems from men having power as a group over women while individual men feel powerless or victimized by women as a group. The papers in this volume illustrate key themes of our historical and conceptual review through studies of adolescent and adult men as fathers, patients, partner abusers, support group participants and community members, and through examination of the impact of their gendered identities and behavior on health, well being, and justice.

How batterer intervention programs work: participant and facilitator accounts of processes of change.

Understanding what facilitates change in men who perpetrate domestic violence can aid the development of more effective batterer intervention programs (BIPs). To identify and describe key change processes, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine successful BIP completers and with 10 intervention group facilitators. The accounts described a range of individual-level processes of change consistent with prior research but also included several processes spanning the community, organizational, and group levels of analysis. Program completers and facilitators gave mostly similar accounts, though differed in their emphasis of criminal justice system sanctions, group resocialization of masculinity, and the participants' own decision to change. All accounts especially emphasized group-level processes and the importance of balancing support and confrontation from facilitators and group members. The findings demonstrate the importance of obtaining multiple perspectives on change processes, and support ecological and systems models of batterer intervention.

Asking, witnessing, interpreting, knowing: conducting qualitative research in community psychology.

We present a framework to describe the process of conducting community-based qualitative research. Qualitative research activities are presented as a series of interrelated acts called asking, witnessing, interpreting, and knowing. Each act in the research process is described in terms of current qualitative research practices, and illustrated with examples from our own research projects on families with schizophrenia and men's mutual support and batterer intervention groups. We critically examine the assumption that qualitative research serves to reveal or amplify the voices of participants. We examine connections between qualitative research and social change and describe the use of qualitative research to not only empower marginalized groups, but also to critique and transform privileged groups. The framework is intended to help community researchers to more fully conceptualize, understand, and engage in the practice of qualitative research.