In-Session Predictors of Treatment Outcome for Intimate Partner Violence: An Examination of Fathers for Change and Treatment as Usual

Batterer Intervention Programs (BIPs) are the current standard of care for men who use intimate partner violence (IPV). BIPs focus on reshaping men’s maladaptive beliefs regarding IPV, women, and gender stereotypes. However, group-based BIPs have mixed empirical support. Fathers for Change (F4C) is a father-focused intervention with promising initial outcomes that takes an individualized and family-centered approach, emphasizing reflective functioning and emotion regulation. The current study leveraged data from a small randomized controlled trial (RCT) that reported greater reductions in self-reported IPV in men who received individually delivered BIP (BIP-I) and F4C compared to a traditional group-based BIP. An observational coding system was applied to video-recorded therapy sessions to examine in-session variables hypothesized to predict father self-reported IPV and emotion dysregulation. The sample included 50 treatment-seeking fathers with a recent history of IPV and child protective services involvement (BIP-I: n = 24; F4C: n = 26). Multigroup SEM analyses revealed different predictors of IPV behaviors in BIP-I and F4C. In BIP-I, none of the variables predicted post-treatment IPV, whereas in F4C, less avoidance and more cognitive emotional processing during sessions predicted greater reductions in IPV. Unexpectedly, more rigidity was associated with more improvement in IPV behavior, whereas higher self-efficacy was associated with less improvement. No significant predictors of emotion regulation emerged in either treatment. These findings highlight the importance of examining in-session variables in IPV treatments for fathers, with implications for refining interventions and guiding future research.