PSYCHOEDUCATION AS A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISM FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION: COGNITIVE, BEHAVIORAL AND VALUE-NORMATIVE PREDICTORS OF CHANGE

Violence remains a critical global public health challenge: according to World Health Organization (2025) data, approximately 840 million women worldwide, or roughly one in three, have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. Psychoeducation, particularly within cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) frameworks, represents a structured mechanism that addresses not only immediate behavioural patterns but also their underlying cognitive distortions and value-normative foundations. This article examines psychoeducation as a socio-psychological instrument for violence prevention by identifying and analysing three clusters of predictors of change: cognitive (beliefs, attributional biases, cognitive flexibility), behavioural (self-regulation, conflict-resolution skills, anger management), and value-normative (gender attitudes, tolerance of violence norms, empathy). Using a systematic literature review and comparative analysis of evidence-based programmes implemented in various national contexts, including comparisons with Central Asian settings such as Uzbekistan, the study synthesises empirical data on effect sizes and outcome measures across intervention studies. The results demonstrate that integrated CBT-based psychoeducation combining all three predictor domains yields substantially larger reductions in violence risk than single-domain approaches. Scientific novelty lies in the authorial synthesis of a tripartite predictor model that links structural programme design to measurable behavioural outcomes. The findings are of practical value for clinical psychologists, social workers, policymakers, and educators engaged in violence prevention.