Reducing intimate partner violence: a pilot evaluation of an intervention program

The current study describes a 20-week community-based intimate partner violence (IPV) intervention program delivered in British Columbia, Canada, and provides a preliminary evaluation of program impacts. The Men in Healthy Relationships program targets men who have perpetrated IPV and who voluntarily choose to participate in a program to learn healthy intimate partner relationship strategies. The intervention was evaluated across three program cycles in a pretest–posttest single group design, with a total of 46 participants enrolled. Twenty-eight men completed the pretest survey; analyses focus on the subset of 17 participants who reported having a current intimate partner and who completed the Abusive Behavior Inventory, and the 14–21 participants who completed pretest and posttest questions regarding knowledge and skills learned in the program. Results from the pilot evaluation suggest that the Men in Healthy Relationships program is a promising approach to decreasing abusive behavior, with participants showing significant decreases in both physical and psychological abuse. In addition, participants increased their knowledge and use of calming techniques and “time-outs” to reduce feelings of anger. Limitations and future research are discussed, along with implications for IPV intervention programing for voluntary participants.