DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04362.v1
title: Effectiveness of Culturally-Focused Batterer Counseling for African American Men in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2001-2004
title: Version 1

description: This study used an experimental clinical trial to test the
 effectiveness of culturally-focused batterer counseling against
 conventional cognitive-behavioral counseling in African American
 men. A total of 503 men, including all African American men mandated
 by the domestic violence court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to
 batterer counseling between November 2001 and May 2004, were randomly
 assigned to one of three counseling options: culturally-focused
 counseling in an all African American group, conventional counseling
 in an all African American group, or conventional counseling in a
 racially mixed group. All three counseling options required a minimum
 of 16 weekly group sessions. At program intake, the men completed a
 background questionnaire, the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test
 (SMAST) and the Racial Identity Scale (RAIS), contained in Part 1,
 Men's Intake Questionnaire Data. The men later completed a survey of
 past experiences of violence, contained in Part 2, Men's Past Violence
 Survey Data. The men were interviewed once at five months after
 program intake about their impressions of and ratings of the
 counseling. Results of those interviews are in Part 3, Men's
 Five-Month Follow-up Data. A female partner was interviewed for 399 of
 the male subjects at program intake. Their responses are contained in
 Part 4, Women's Background Data. Female partners (both initial victims
 and new partners) were interviewed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the
 initial interview at the time of the men's program intake (Parts
 5-8). The follow-up interviews asked about the women's relationship
 status, abusive behavior and its circumstances, help seeking, and
additional intervention.
description: The purpose of this study was to use an
 experimental clinical trial to test the effectiveness of
 culturally-focused batterer counseling against conventional
 cognitive-behavioral counseling in African American men.
 Culturally-focused counseling is designed to identify specific
 cultural topics and respond to emergent cultural issues in a
 racially-homogenous group that engages the men and is thought to
 affect program dropout, re-assault, and re-arrest rates among
participants.
description: An experimental clinical trial was used to test
 the expectation that culturally-focused counseling would improve
 batterer program outcomes. A total of 503 men, including all African
 American men mandated by the domestic violence court in Pittsburgh to
 batterer counseling between November 2001 and May 2003, were randomly
 assigned to one of three counseling options: culturally-focused
 counseling in an all African American group, conventional counseling
 in an all African American group, and conventional counseling in a
 racially mixed group. A staff member from the batterer program was
 stationed in the court to receive men ordered to batterer counseling
 and set an appointment for program intake within a week. The staff
 directed African American men to one of two sites in the city's
 predominantly African American neighborhoods. At the program intake,
 all the men completed a structured background questionnaire, the Short
 Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST), the Racial Identity Scale
 (RAIS) (Part 1), a research consent notice, and a contact information
 form. At the end of orientation, the men were randomly assigned to one
 of the three counseling options and began attending group counseling
 the next week. There were four groups available at each of the two
 sites: one culturally-focused group, one all African American group,
 and two racially mixed groups. Each group had a maximum enrollment of
 20 men with an average attendance of 13, and met on a weekday
 evening. All three counseling options required a minimum of 16 weekly
 group sessions. The experimental group of culturally-focused
 counseling included a curriculum of cultural topics and discussion of
 emergent issues, along with basic anti-violence instructions, in a
 group of African American men. The conventional group counseling
 followed a cognitive-behavioral curriculum focused on abusive behavior
 and thought patterns associated with abuse. All of the men were
 assessed a weekly fee based on a sliding scale ranging from 5 dollars
 to 50 dollars. Two missed payments resulted in a two-week suspension
 from the program. If payment was not made within that time, the man
 was dismissed from the program and sent back to court for additional
 penalties. Men with three absences were also dismissed and returned to
 court. Every six weeks, through a combination of direct observation and
 audio tapes, all of the groups were monitored for "treatment
 integrity" on several aspects including curriculum presentation, group
 process, group leader, men's participation and overall impact. After
 observing several group sessions, the culturally-focused expert
 recommended that the African American men's previous exposure to
 violence be assessed. A checklist of violence towards (or from)
 different categories of people was developed (Part 2). It included
 observed and experienced incidents during pre-teen, teen, and adult
 periods of the men's lives. The men were interviewed once at five
 months after program intake (Part 3) about their impressions and their
 ratings of the counseling. Arrest records were also obtained for each
 of the men and coded for categories of domestic violence crimes, any
 violent crime, alcohol-related crimes, and any crime. An initial
 interview with the victim at the time of the man's intake obtained
 background data (Part 4), and victim reports of re-assault were
 obtained through follow-up interviews at 3 (Part 5), 6 (Part 6), 9
 (Part 7) and 12 months (Part 8) after the initial interview. The
 follow-up interviews asked a combination of open-ended and
 closed-ended questions about the women's relationship status, abusive
 behavior and circumstances, help seeking, and additional intervention.
 The phone interview took from 10 to 20 minutes to administer with some
 interviews lasting 45 minutes if the the woman had suffered severe
 abuse. Two research assistants tracked the women using the contact
 form of names and address information obtained from the male subjects
 at program intake and updated with each follow-up interview. The women
 were informed about the study, were explained safety measures, and
 were asked for consent over the phone. For each completed interview,
 they were paid ten dollars through a check mailed to an address they
 designated. New partners were also interviewed when identified at
 program intake, however new partners that the men may have become
involved with during the follow-up period were not sought out.
description: Part 1, Men's Intake Questionnaire Data, includes
 variables from the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST),
 the Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (RAIS), and the men's background
 questionnaire. Variables include attitudes on use of alcohol, racial
 group identification attitudes, men's demographic variables, variables
 on the status of the relationship, and variables on the abusive
 episode. Part 2, Men's Past Violence Survey Data, includes variables
 that asked the men about their past experiences with violence at three
 times in their lives: prior to age 13, as a teenager, and at age 20 or
 older. Part 3, Men's Five-Month Follow-up Data, includes variables
 about the men's impressions of and rating of the counseling five
 months after intake. Part 4, Women's Background Data, includes women's
 demographic variables, variables on relationship status, and the
 abusive episode. Part 5 through Part 8, Women's Follow-Up Data (at
 three-month intervals), includes variables on the women's
 relationship status, abusive episodes and circumstances, help seeking,
and additional intervention.
description: none
description: Response Rates: For Part 1, the participation refusal rate among the
 men was 4 percent. For Part 2, 318 African American and 106 Caucasian
 men completed the past violence survey. Initially, a female partner
 was interviewed for 399 of the male subjects at program intake (Part
 4), or 80 percent of the original 503 sample. A total of 383 men had a
 partner interviewed at the three-month (Part 5) or six-month (Part 6)
 follow-up, or 76 percent of the 503 sample. And 396 men had an
 interviewed partner sometime during the twelve-month (Part 8)
 follow-up period, or 79 percent of the 503 sample. The response rate
 for female victims was 66 percent for the full twelve-month follow-up
 period (0-12 months after intake, n=333), and 68 percent for the full
 six months after program intake (n=343). A response rate for Part 3 is
not available.
description: Presence of Common Scales: The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) (Selzer,
 Vinokur, and Van Rooijen 1975) and the Racial Identity Attitudes
 Scale (RIAS) (Helms and Parham 1996) were used. Several Likert-type
scales also were used.
description: The sample recruited for the clinical trial (Part 1)
 consisted of 503 men. This number includes all the African American
 men ordered to the batterer counseling program in Pittsburgh between
 November 2001 and May 2003. Of these, 165 men were randomly assigned
 to the culturally-focused counseling group, 152 to the all African
 American conventional counseling group, and 186 to the racially mixed
 conventional counseling group. A female partner (Part 4) was
 interviewed for 399 of the male subjects at program intake. There were
 34 new partners interviewed at the six-month (Part 6) follow-up in
 addition to 328 of the initial female victims. At the twelve-month
 (Part 8) follow-up, 31 new partners were interviewed along with 320 of
 the initial female victims. The administration of the past violence
 survey (Part 2) began four months after the start of subject
 recruitment. A total of 318 African American and 106 Caucasian men
 entering the program during the same time frame were included in the
sample.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Men's Intake Questionnaire Data
DS2: Men's Past Violence Survey Data
DS3: Men's Five-Month Follow-up Data
DS4: Women's Background Data
DS5: Women's Three-Month Follow-up Data
DS6: Women's Six-Month Follow-up Data
DS7: Women's Nine-Month Follow-up Data
DS8: Women's Twelve-Month Follow-up Data
description: Parts 1-3: All men ordered to the batterer counseling
 program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between November 2001 and May
 2003. Parts 4-8: Female partners of all men ordered to the batterer
 counseling program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between November 2001
and May 2003.
description: on-site questionnaire; record abstract; telephone interview