Batterers’ Experiences, Changes, and Catalysts for Change in Supervised Visitation Program

• Main Authors: Chen, Chi An, 陳祈安
• Other Authors: Song, Li Yu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/t46866

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 社會工作研究所 === 105 === The Supervised Visitation Program (SVP) provides parent-child meetings for high-conflict families with social workers’ help to ensure safety on the premises. This study addressed batterers’ experiences with SVP services and the changes they experienced because of the SVP services through an analysis of the factors that influenced those changes. In-depth qualitative interviews with five batterers and four social workers involved in SVP were conducted using a semi-structured interview schedule. This study analyzed the interview data in a thematic analysis. The research findings are summarized as follows. 1.Experiences receiving the SVP services. The batterers explicitly pointed out the helpfulness of the SVP services and the importance of the social workers’ assistance. Positive experiences were cyclically accumulated. The negative experiences were accumulated from the sense of frustration present during the meetings and their psychological struggles and helplessness related to the accusations of domestic violence and the perspectives and opinions of the social workers. 2.Changes experienced by the batterers: The batterers stated that the changes they experienced included improved interpersonal interactions, ability to recuperate, personal growth, and parent-child interactions. The changes observed by the social workers included the batterers’ personal growth and improvements in parent-child relationships, relationship with roommates, and professional relationships. The batterers’ children and roommates also benefited from the SVP. 3.Factors that influenced the changes: The influencing factors were classified as promotive factors or obstructive factors. The analysis of the batterer interview data found that the promotive factors included the social workers’ professionalism and motivational influences on maintaining family affections. The obstructive factors included overemphasis on conflicts and resentments, inter-parental conflicts, and judicial litigations. In the social workers’ opinions, the promotive factors included the social workers’ professionalism, their motivational influences on maintaining family affections, changes to the batterers’ states, and their supportive resources; the obstructive factors included excessive negativity, obstructions by roommates, judicial litigations, and the batterers’ personal limitations. The results found that SVP was beneficial for promoting the batterers’ sense of empathy, parent-child relationships, and for developing the ability to recuperate, thus creating a positive cycle. Family affections and a sense of parental responsibility were the basis of stimulating the batterers’ changes, and the social workers’ professional expertise exerted an influence on the process of the changes. In contrast, overemphasis on conflicts and resentments obstructed the formation of motivational influences for change. Suggestions for practice and policy are presented based on the study’s results.