Violent and dangerous macho men. The figure of the male batterer in Almodóvar’s cinema

Most interventions for men who batter are standardized and “one-size-fits-all,” neglecting individual differences in readiness to change. A multimedia expert system intervention based on the transtheoretical model (the “stage model”) was developed as an adjunct to traditional court-mandated programs. The expert system assesses stage of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and processes of change and provides immediate individualized stage-matched feedback designed to increase readiness to end the violence. Fifty-eight male batterer intervention program clients were invited by agency staff to complete an expert system session and an evaluation of the program; 33 men were recruited at program intake and the remainder from ongoing groups. Responses to the intervention were very positive. For example, 87% of participants reported that they found the program to be easy to use, and 98% said it could probably or definitely help them change their attitudes or behaviors. Findings provide encouraging evidence of the acceptability of this stage-matched approach to intervention for domestic violence offenders.

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The Male Batterer: Clinical and Research Issues

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.3.1.65 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 65-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Daniel J. Sonkin

Keyword(s):

Spouse Abuse ◽

Service Providers ◽

Treatment Interventions ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Research Issues ◽

Power And Control ◽

Male Batterer ◽

Psychology Of Men ◽

And Control ◽

Personal Understanding

Since 1977, treatment and education programs for men who are assaultive toward spouses have proliferated across the country. Due to the great risk these men have posed to family members, many of the early intervention strategies were based on clinical intuition, clinical style, and personal understanding of the causes of family violence rather than on research data. These approaches to treatment have fallen into three camps: (1) a cognitive understanding of sexism, power, and control in intimate relationships; (2) behavioral anger management; and (3) family systems. Although service providers argue that their particular approach is the most effective, there is no data that indicate that any one form of treatment is more successful than others. As more empirical data are made available to service providers, treatment interventions can be appropriately modified. A greater dialogue between service providers, social policy makers, and academics is necessary to bridge the gaps in understanding the psychology of men who are assaultive toward intimates. Specific recommendations are made that may lead us to a better understanding of the etiology of spouse abuse as well as to the formulation of more effective intervention and prevention strategies.

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Woman-Battering, Child Abuse and Social Heredity: What is the Relationship?

The Sociological Review ◽

10.1111/j.1467-954x.1983.tb00101.x ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 147-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Evan Stark ◽

Anne Flitcraft

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Battered Women ◽

Wife Abuse ◽

Physically Abused ◽

Male Batterer ◽

The Future ◽

The Relationship ◽

Woman Battering ◽

Battered Mothers

This paper explores the relationship between child abuse and woman-battering. In so doing the authors test and reject the hypothesis, common in the violence literature, that ‘violence begets violence’. The vast majority of woman-batterers do not come from homes where they were beaten, and the vast majority of men who were beaten as children do not later batter their wives. Child abuse experts deny the importance of woman-battering. Interventions to stop child abuse focus on changing the ‘mother's’ behaviour. Wife abuse is, however, the major precipitating context of child abuse. Children whose mothers are battered are more than twice as likely to be physically abused than children whose mothers are not battered. When women are battered and children are abused it is usually the male batterer who is responsible for the maltreatment of the child. In other cases women may turn to child abuse when their own battering is already well-established. Battered women who abuse their children are more likely to be treated punitively than non-battered mothers who treat their children in a similar manner. They are, for instance, more likely to have their children removed. These findings have important implications for policy. The authors point out that those who are concerned about child abuse ‘would do well to look toward advocacy and protection of battered mothers as the best available means to prevent current child abuse as well as child abuse in the future’.

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