Citation

Echeburúa E, Sarasua B, Zubizarreta I, de Corral P. Int. J. Clin. Health Psychol. 2009; 9(2): 199-217.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Granada, Publisher Asociacion Espanola de Psicologia Conductual)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to evaluate an individual 20 sessions cognitive-behavioral programme in the treatment of male batterers; after implementing it for ten years in a community setting. The sample consisted of 196 subjects who voluntarily participated in the study. An experimental design with repeated measures (pre-treatment, posttreatment and 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-up) was used. The success rate was of 88% in the treatment completers. In spite of the lost patients in the follow-ups (46% at the end of twelve months), the results were maintained in the contacted patients at follow-up (53% in the 12-month-follow-up), with a high impact on reducing recidivism. However, the rate of refusals and drop-outs of the treatment was rather high. Therefore it is necessary to develop strategies to improve motivation for treatment. Implications of this study for clinical practice, policy decisions and future research in this field are commented upon.