Dropout in a treatment program for self-referring wife abusing men

Demographic factors & levels of psychological/physical aggression predicting dropout from a self-referred wife abuse treatment program were assessed with 70 intact couples assigned to either conjoint or gender-specific groups for 14 weeks. Dropout was defined as attending less than 10 sessions, & the 33 dropouts couples were surveyed on reasons for noncompletion. In discriminant function analysis of scale data, no demographic variables were associated with dropout. The best predictors were wives' reports of severe psychological aggression & a higher level of wife-to-husband mild aggression. The most frequently cited reasons for dropout were treatment-related, primarily that the format did not lend itself to individual couple needs. It is recommended that group treatment programs identify husbands with severe psychological aggression & wives with mild psychological aggression for parallel or separate individual treatment, & that programs allow for more personalized attention to each couple. 3 Tables, 59 References. Adapted from the source document.