A Randomized Clinical Trial of Virtually-Delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the Duluth Model for Men Court-Mandated to a Domestic Violence Program

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rapid shift to remote platforms for various psychological and behavioral health services, including court-mandated Batterers Intervention Programs (BIPs). However, efficacy of virtually-delivered BIPs has not been examined. This trial represents the second phase of a previously published randomized control trial (RCT; Zarling & Russell, 2022). There were two aims of the current study: the primary aim was to compare virtually-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to virtually-delivered Duluth in a randomized controlled trial, and a secondary aim was to compare the results of the virtually-delivered BIP format to the previous published in person results.

This study included 548 men who were court-mandated to complete a domestic violence program after a first-time conviction of assault against a female partner. Participants were randomized to complete the 24 virtual sessions of the ACT program or the Duluth Model Men’s Nonviolence Classes. Criminal justice outcomes included domestic violence charges, other violent charges, and non-violent charges incurred during the one year following BIP drop-out or completion.

When examining any differences in outcomes between virtual ACT and virtual Duluth, logistic and negative binomial regression analyses showed that treatment type was not a significant predictor of recidivism outcomes, though virtual ACT was associated with fewer recidivists and charges. When comparing these results to the in person results, fewer virtual participants acquired nonviolent charges and they also had significantly fewer total charges compared to in-person participants.

The virtual delivery of ACT sessions and Duluth classes resulted in similar criminal justice-related outcomes among participants in both programs. The non-inferiority examination of virtual delivery compared to in person suggests that virtual programs may offer similar benefits to in-person programs in reducing recidivism among men who have been court-mandated to a BIP.