Romantic relationships are often fraught with challenges for individuals post-release. Yet, few relationships-focused services are offered during this important and complex transitional period. Using pre- and post-test survey data, this pilot study of 63 men living in a residential substance treatment facility post release evaluated the impact of a 20-h individual-oriented relationship education (RE) program (Within My Reach) on attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV), sexist beliefs, attitudes toward infidelity, relational efficacy, and relationship decision making. Results showed a significant decrease in support of IPV at pre- and post-test even after controlling for education, number of children, and relationship status.
Adler-BaederF.KerpelmanJ. L.SchrammD. G.HigginbothamB.PaulkA. (2007). The impact of relationship education on adolescents of diverse backgrounds. Family Relations, 56(3), 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2007.00460.x
2.
AntleB.SarB.ChristensenD.KaramE.EllersF.BarbeeA.van ZylM. (2013). The impact of the within my reach relationship training on relationship skills and outcomes for low-income individuals. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 39(3), 346–357. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2012.00314.x
3.
AntleB. F.KaramE.ChristensenD. N.BarbeeA. P.SarB. K. (2011). An evaluation of healthy relationship education to reduce intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Social Work, 14(5), 387–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/10522158.2011.616482
4.
ArnockyS.SunderaniS.GomesW.VaillancourtT. (2015). Anticipated partner infidelity and men’s intimate partner violence: The mediating role of anxiety. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 9(3), 186–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000021
5.
BergM. T.HuebnerB. M. (2011). Reentry and the ties that bind: An examination of societies, employment, and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 28(2), 382–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2010.498383
6.
BobbittM.CampbellR.TateG. L. (2011). Safe return: Working toward preventing domestic violence when men return from prison. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 24(1), 57–61. https://doi.org/10.1525/fsr.2011.24.1.57
7.
BraunM. J. (2012). Intimate Partner Violence During the Transition from Prison to the Community: An Ecological Analysis. Dissertations and Theses, Portland State UniversityPDXScholar.https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.511.
CarlsonR.WheelerN.AdamsJ. (2018). The influence of individual-oriented relationship education on equality and conflict-related behaviors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 96(2), 144–154. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12188
CarsonE. A.GolinelliD. (2013). Prisoners in 2012: Trends in Admissions and Releases, 1991– 2012. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12tar9112.pdf.
12.
CherlinA. J. (2010). Demographic trends in the United States: A review of research in the 2000s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 403–419. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00710.x
13.
ComfortM.KriegerK. E.LandwehrJ.McKayT.LindquistC. H.FeinbergR.KennedyE. K.BirA. (2018). Partnership after prison: Couple relationships during reentry. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(2), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2018.1441208
14.
ComfortM.WilliamsT. (2018). After life imprisonment: Reentry in the era of mass incarceration. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 47(3), 343–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118767651dd
15.
CrossE.OverallN.HammondM.FletcherG. (2017). When does men’s Hostile Sexism predict relationship aggression? The moderating role of partner commitment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(3), 331–440. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616672000
16.
CunhaO.GonçalvesR. A. (2018). Male perpetrators of intimate partner violence: A comparison between incarcerated and community offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(11), 3260–3277. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17741070
17.
DatchiC. C.BarrettiL. M.ThompsonC. M. (2016). Family services in adult detention centers: Systemic principles for prisoner reentry. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 5(2), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000057
18.
DatchiC. C.SextonT. L. (2013). Can family therapy have an effect on adult criminal conduct? Initial evaluation of functional family therapy. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2(4), 278–293. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034166
19.
FinchamF. D.CuiM.BraithwaiteS.PasleyK. (2008). Attitudes toward intimate partner violence in dating relationships. Psychological Assessment, 20(3), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.20.3.260
20.
FinchamF. D.HaroldG. T.Gano-PhillipsS. (2000). The longitudinal association between attributions and marital satisfaction: Direction of effects and role of efficacy expectations. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(2), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.14.2.267
21.
FlemingC. B.WhiteH. R.CatalanoR. F. (2010). Romantic relationships and substance use in early adulthood: An examination of the influences of relationship type, partner substance use, and relationship quality. Journal of Health & Social Behavior, 51(2), 153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146510368930
22.
GellerA.GarfinkelI.WesternB. (2011). Paternal incarceration and support for children in fragile families. Demography, 48(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-010-0009-9
23.
GlickP.FiskeS. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491
24.
GoodboyA. K.MyersS. A. (2010). Relational quality indicators and love styles as predictors of negative relational maintenance behaviors in romantic relationships. Communication Reports, 23(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2010.511397
HairstonC. F.OliverW. (2006). Domestic violence and prisoner reentry: Experiences of African American men and women. Vera Institute of Justice.
27.
HairstonC. F.OliverW. (2011). Women’s experiences with men’s incarceration and reentry. In ImmarigeonR. (Ed.), Women and girls in the criminal justice system volume II (Ed). Civic Research Institute.
28.
HammondM. D.OverallN. C. (2017). Dynamics within intimate relationships and the causes, consequences, and functions of sexist attitudes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(2), 120–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721416686213
29.
HarcourtK. T.Adler-BaederF.RauerA.PettitG. S.ErathS. (2017). Relationship education for incarcerated adults. Family Process, 56(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12164
30.
HarmanJ. J.SmithV. E.EganL. C. (2007). The impact of incarceration on intimate relationships. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(6), 794–815. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807299543
31.
JakubowskiS. F.MilneE. P.BrunnerH.MillerR. B. (2004). A review of empirically supported marital enrichment programs. Family Relations, 53(5), 528–536. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00062.x
LindquistC.ComfortM.LandwehrJ.FeinbergR.CohenJ.McKayT.BirA. (2016). Change in father-child relationships before, during, and after incarceration. ASPE research brief. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Washington, DC.
34.
LindquistC.McKayT.BirA. (2012). Strategies for building healthy relationship skills among couples affected by incarceration. HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/MFS-IP/relationshipskills/rb.pdf.
35.
LindquistC.SteffeyD.TuellerS.McKayT.ComfortM.BirA. (2018). The multisite family study on incarceration, partnering, and parenting: Program impacts. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(2), 115–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2018.1441211
36.
McKayT.LandwehrJ.LindquistC.FeinbergR.BirA.GroveL. (2015). Intimate partner violence experiences during men’s reentry from prison. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
37.
McKayT.LandwehrJ.LindquistC.FeinbergR.ComfortM.CohenJ.BirA. (2018a). Intimate partner violence in couples navigating incarceration and reentry. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(5), 273–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2018.1487897
38.
McKayT.LindquistC.FeinbergR.SteffeyD.LandwehrJ.BirA. (2018b). Family life before and during incarceration. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 57(2), 96–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2018.1441209
39.
McKayT.MellgrenL.LandwehrJ.BirA.HelburnA.LindquistC.KriegerK. (2017). Earnings and Child Support Participation Among Reentering Fathers. ASPE Research Brief. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
40.
McKayT. E.BirA.LindquistC. H.SteffeyD. M.KeyesV. S.SiegelS. Y. (2013). Addressing domestic violence in family strengthening programs for couples affected by incarceration. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Washington, DC. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/13/MFS-IPDomesticViolence/rpt.pdfGlobal: The Sciences and Engineering Collection.
41.
NegashS.CravensJ. D.BrownP. C.FinchamF. D. (2016). Relationship dissolution and psychologically aggressive dating relationships: Preliminary findings from college-based relationship education course. Violence and Victims, 31(5), 921–937. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00054
42.
NemethJ. M.BonomiA. E.LeeM. A.LudwinJ. M. (2012). Sexual infidelity as trigger for intimate partner violence. Journal of Women’s Health, 21(9), 942–949. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2011.3328
43.
OliverW.HairstonC. F. (2008). Intimate partner violence during the transition from prison to the community: Perspectives of incarcerated African American men. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 16(3), 258–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926770801925577
PearsonM.StanleyS. M.KlineG. H. (2005). Within my reach. PREP, Inc.
46.
RhoadesG.StanleyS. (2011). Using individual-oriented relationship education to prevent family violence. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 10(2), 185–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2011.562844
47.
RhoadesG. K. (2015). The effectiveness of the within our reach relationship education program for couples: Findings from a federal randomized trial. Family Process, 54(4), 672–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12148
48.
RobertsonK.MurachverT. (2007). Correlates of partner violence for incarcerated women and men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(5), 639–655. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506298835
49.
Ruiz-HernándezJ. A.García-JiménezJ. J.Llor-EstebanB.Godoy-FernándezC. (2015). Risk factors for intimate partner violence in prison inmates. The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 7(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpal.2014.11.003
50.
SimonsR. L.BarrA. B. (2014). Shifting perspectives: Cognitive changes partially mediate the impact of romantic relationships on desistance from crime. Justice Quarterly, 31(5), 793–821. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2012.704388
51.
SmithB. A.ThompsonS.TomakaJ.BuchananA. C. (2005). Development of the intimate partner violence attitude scales (IPVAS) with a predominantly Mexican American college sample. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(4), 442–454. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0739986305281233
TadrosE.OgdenT. E. (2020). Conceptualizing incarcerated co-parenting through a structural family theory lens. Marriage & Family Review, 56(6), 535–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2020.1728007
54.
TestoniI.BrancifortiG.ZamperiniA.ZulianiL.NavaF. A. (2019). Prisoners’ ambivalent sexism and domestic violence: A narrative study. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 15(4), 332–348. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijph-09-2018-0046
VennumA.FinchamF. D. (2011). Assessing decision making in young adult romantic relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 739–751. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023287
57.
WeillJ. M. (2016). Incarceration and social networks: Understanding the relationships that support reentry (Order No. 10244913). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Sciences and Engineering Collection.
58.
WeiserD. A.WeigelD. J. (2016). Self-efficacy in romantic relationships: Direct and indirect effects on relationship maintenance and satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 89(1), 152–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.013
59.
WhatleyM. A. (2008). Attitudes toward infidelity scale. In KnoxD.SchachtC. (Eds.), Choices in relationships (9th ed., pp. 19). Thompson Wadsworth.
WyseJ. J. B.HardingD. J.MorenoffJ. D. (2014). Romantic relationships and criminal desistance: Pathways and processes. Sociological Forum, 29(2), 365–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12088
