A 30-Month Follow-Up of Court- Referred Batterers in Four Cities

Abstract

A follow-up of court-referred male batterers in four cites was conducted to assess the long-term outcomes of batterer programs (N = 618). About 70% of the batterers’initial and new female partners were interviewed by phone every 3 months for the first 15 months and every 7 to 8 months for the next 15 months. According to the women’s reports, 41% of the men committed a reassault during the 30-month follow-up period—an increase of only 7% over the 15-month reassault rate. Nearly two thirds of the first-time reassaults occurred in the first 6 months. About a fifth of the men repeatedly reassaulted their partners and account for most of the reported injuries. The reassault rate for men attending a program for 3 months or more is significantly less than for dropouts. The reassault rates are not significantly different across the four programs, despite differences in program length and services.