Characteristics Of Male Perpetrators Of Intimate Partner Violence Associated With Length Of Time From Referral To Intake And Completion Status: House Of Ruth Maryland's Gateway Project

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Date

2013

Department

Public Health and Policy

Program

Doctor of Public Health

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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been a major public health concern over the past few decades. IPV intervention programs, such as the Gateway Project of House of Ruth Maryland in Baltimore, were designed for the abusers to be accountable for their violence as well as to change their abusive behavior. However, high rates of drop-outs have been a consistent problem for these types of programs. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between demographic and violence related characteristics and length of time from referral to intake for those individuals who were referred to House of Ruth Maryland's Gateway Project in 2006. This study also determined the association between length of referral-to-intake time and successful completion of the Gateway Project with adjustment for other participant characteristics. A Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for the relationship between the participant characteristics and referral-to-intake time. A logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for the relationship between the referral-to-intake time and completion status with adjustment for confounders. The sample size for this study was 600 men referred to the Gateway Project in 2006, of which 414 (69%) completed their intake successfully. The median time from referral to intake was 119 days. Of these 414 cases, 198 successfully completed the Gateway Project. Men who were single (vs. married, OR = 0.74, p = 0.02), unemployed (vs. employed, HR = 0.64. p = 1*10-5), less educated (overall p for education categories = 0.01), and voluntary self-referral (vs. court referral, HR = 0.43, p = 0.001), were found to proceed more slowly from referral to intake. Those who were slower to make it to intake were less likely to complete the Gateway Project (OR = 0.89 per month increment in referral-to-intake time) even with adjustment for age, education, number of criminal charges, and referral source. Referral-to-intake time alone was a strong predictor of successful completion (OR = 0.90 per month increment, p = 1*10-6). House of Ruth Maryland's Gateway Project can use the results from this study to identify those men who are least likely to make it to intake and/or complete the program and develop measures (e.g., intensified contact or counseling) to increase overall retention through referral to completion.