Fathers for Change for Men With Co-occurring Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse

Summary

Social service systems rarely acknowledge the status of men as fathers in the conceptualization and delivery of treatment for substance abuse or domestic violence. Although there has been extensive focus on the treatment of mothers who abuse substances, are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) (defined as physical aggression and/or psychological abuse and control at the hands of an intimate partner), or maltreat their children there has been little consideration of the need for interventions for fathers with histories of co-morbid IPV and substance abuse. It is estimated that between 10 and 17.8 million children are witness to violence in their homes each year. National and regional samples indicate 50-70% of families impacted by IPV and the typically co-occurring substance abuse have children under the age of seven. Large percentages of these men continue to live with or have consistent contact with their young children despite aggression and substance use.

Court mandated treatments for perpetrators of domestic violence have become the norm, however the efficacy of these treatments is questionable and most do not speak to the broader needs of batterers and their families. How batterer's treatments might impact parenting and father-child relationships and the psychosocial functioning of children is vastly understudied and not currently understood. Since batterer treatments are court mandated and require tremendous financial and community resources, the efficacy of these interventions in stopping the cycle of domestic violence and improving the health and well-being of the batterer, his partner and children is crucial. There are currently NO evidence-based treatments that address co-morbid substance abuse and domestic violence perpetration with emphasis on paternal parenting and the father-child relationship. Consequently, the proposed psychotherapy development project will develop and evaluate the potential efficacy of a novel, relational parent intervention for fathers with co-morbid substance abuse and IPV who have young children. The goals of this intervention are to decrease aggression and substance abuse by increasing focus on fathering and an improved father-child relationship.

Conditions

• Domestic Violence
• Substance Abuse
• Parenting

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Fathers for Change

FATHERS FOR CHANGE comprises 16, 60 minute sessions of treatment utilizing components of three evidence based practices: SADV-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Couple Therapy and Child-Parent Psychotherapy. The goals of the intervention are: 1) decreased substance abuse and IPV by teaching coping and anger management skills, 2) improved communication and increased problem solving around shared parenting 3) parenting education including child development and the impact of violence on children, 4) discussion of discipline practices and development of behavior modification or positive reinforcement plans, and 5) attachment focused parent-child play sessions to coach fathers in play with their children and process traumatic experiences.

BEHAVIORAL

Individual Drug Counseling

Individual drug counseling focuses on the symptoms of drug addiction and related areas of impaired functioning and the content and structure of the patient's ongoing recovery program. This model of counseling is time limited and emphasizes behavioral change. It gives the patient coping strategies and tools for recovery and promotes 12-step ideology and participation. The primary goal of addiction counseling is to assist the addict in achieving and maintaining abstinence from addictive chemicals and behaviors. The secondary goal is to help the addict recover from the damage the addiction has caused in his or her life.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• Yale University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Carla S Stover, Ph.D. · Yale University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-06-30

Primary Completion

2013-06-30

Completion

2013-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations