Comparing Fathers for Change Individual Therapy for IPV Use to the Duluth Model Intervention in Individual and Group Formats

Interventions for men who use intimate partner violence (IPV) almost exclusively have been provided and tested in group formats. Development and testing of individual interventions for IPV use has been stymied by the belief that the best approach is a group format with others who also have used IPV behaviors. Yet, few studies have tested this assumption in randomized controlled trials. The current study is a pilot evaluation of an individual intervention for fathers who use IPV, Fathers for Change (F4C), compared to the standard of care for IPV, Duluth Model Batterer Intervention Program delivered in its original group format (Duluth-G) or an individual format (Duluth-I) developed for this study. Eighty-two fathers who used IPV behaviors in the last 12 months and were referred for treatment were randomly assigned to F4C, Duluth-I, or Duluth-G and provided 18 weeks of once per week treatment. Pre and postassessments were collected on emotion regulation (ER), along with weekly reports of IPV and harsh child discipline (CD), and monthly working alliance with their therapists. Fathers in the individual treatments (F4C and Duluth-I) attended more sessions and reported greater working alliance with their therapists, and reported reduced use of IPV than fathers in group treatment (Duluth-G). Only fathers in F4C reported significant improvements in their ER from pre to posttreatment. These results support further development and testing of individual therapies that target IPV behaviors of fathers.