Lessons in Program Evaluation: The ACTV Batterer Program Study and Its Claims

Authors

Edward W. Gondolf, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Larry Bennett, Indiana University School of Social Work
Eric Mankowski, Portland State UniversityFollow

Published In

Violence Against Women

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

4-1-2019

Abstract

The “Evaluation of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) curriculum for domestic violence offenders” illustrates the methodological issues associated with interpreting program evaluations and applying them to policy. Despite the “preliminary” evidence, the authors promote ACTV as more effective in terms of recidivism compared with DU/CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) programming. A more critical consideration of the research, however, exposes further limitations that counter the initial speculations and interpretations of the study outcome. Consequently, the effectiveness of ACTV over the DU/CBT option remains in question and raises the need for a broader discourse on program effectiveness.

Description

© The Author(s) 2018

Locate the Document

http://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217741994

DOI

10.1177/1077801217741994

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28040

Citation Details

Gondolf, E. W., Bennett, L., & Mankowski, E. (2019). Lessons in Program Evaluation: The ACTV Batterer Program Study and Its Claims. Violence Against Women, 25(5), NP1-NP10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801217741994