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Over the past decade, there has been rapid growth in the evidence for programs to prevent or reduce intimate partner violence (IPV)-the most common form of men's violence against women. IPV interventions targeting heterosexual couples have shown significant impact. However, our understanding of how these interventions achieve their impacts on violence-the mechanisms through which change occurs-remains limited. Using data from two follow-up rounds of a randomized controlled trial of the Bandebereho intervention in Rwanda, we constructed conceptually driven structural equation models to represent the processes by which hypothesized mediating variables linked treatment assignment to IPV. We found significant differences in the expected direction between the intervention and control participants on all mediating variables, including men's alcohol use, communication frequency, emotional closeness, frequency of quarreling, and men's attitudes related to gender and violence. Several mechanisms-more positive couple dynamics including emotional closeness and communication frequency; men's gender-equitable attitudes; men's alcohol use-accounted for the largest proportions of the effect of assignment to the Bandebereho intervention on IPV. Overall, our findings highlight that no one particular component is driving the reductions in violence; instead, the multiple components and pathways account for the intervention's effects, suggesting that the holistic nature of the intervention may be integral to its positive impact. The Bandebereho trial from which data was used in this analysis was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov prior to completion ( NCT02694627 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentoring is considered an evidence-based practice for violence prevention. This study presents a partial replication of the Take Charge! program implemented in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS). One hundred and eighty-eight early adolescents (M age = 12.87; 61.17% male) who were treated for peer-related assault injury in two urban mid-Atlantic emergency departments were randomly assigned to receive a mentor from two BBBS affiliates. Mentors and organization staff were trained in the Take Charge! violence prevention curriculum, which had previously shown evidence of efficacy. Intent-to-treat analyses showed statistically significant improvements in conflict avoidance self-efficacy for the intervention group at 9 months and reductions in fighting at 21 months, but an increase in parental report of aggression at 9 months. Complier average causal effect models revealed evidence of an additional effect for reduced problem behavior at 21 months for intervention adolescents who received a mentor. No effects were found for youth-reported aggression, retaliatory attitudes, deviance acceptance, or commitment to learning. Sensitivity analyses suggested increased aggressive behavior for adolescents in the intervention group who did not receive a mentor (i.e., non-compliers). These findings extend the evidence-base for Take Charge! as a violence prevention curriculum for youth already engaged in violence to "real-world" implementation settings. However, they also suggest that challenges associated with providing youth with mentors can be consequential and that additional supports may be needed for these youth/parents. Clinical trials number: clinicaltrials.gov NCT01770873. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]