A Preliminary Examination of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Program for Incarcerated Domestic Violence Offenders.

Batterers intervention programs (BIPs) have only a marginal impact on domestic violence (DV) recidivism, in part because treatment attrition is high. The current study evaluates a new BIP based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (called ACTV, Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior) in a sample of incarcerated DV offenders who failed to complete community-based BIP (N = 23). The current study examined participants' risk factors and assessed criminal justice outcomes in the 1 year following treatment completion. The men exhibited high levels of experiential avoidance, adverse childhood experiences, psychopathy, and attachment when compared to clinical and forensic samples from past research. Consistent with the theory underlying ACTV, experiential avoidance decreased significantly over the course of treatment. In addition, 1 out of 22 (4.5%) had a domestic assault charge in the 1-year follow-up period. Overall, the current study offers preliminary support for the use of ACTV with noncompliant, incarcerated offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]