Citation

Gondolf EW, Hanneken J. J. Fam. Violence 1987; 2(2): 177-191.

Affiliation

Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, 15213 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; The Family Resource Center, 429 Forbes Ave., 15219 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00977041

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Reformed batterers were interviewed about their perceptions on the nature of their abuse and how they stopped their abuse. The interviewees were 12 men from a men''s counseling program who were nonviolent for 10 months or more. The men explained their abuse as a reaction to their failed macho complex. They viewed the counseling program as a reinforcement for their self-determination to change. And they described the process of change in terms of personal growth, in which they accepted responsibility, became empathetic, and redefined their manhood. The implications of the reformed batterer''s perceptions for program development are discussed in the conclusion.