The long-term objective of this project is to provide information about domestic violence in the Latino immigrant community and the manner in which specific cultural mandates and strengths can be used to affect the incidence of this serious and costly public health problem.
The first aim of this study is to enhance the understanding of the dynamics of abuse among Latinos through observational methods and interviews of two groups of couples: (1) couples referred by the courts for a domestic violence program, and (2) volunteer couples in which violence is not present.
The second aim i s to evaluate a 24-week intervention that incudes support and educational groups for abused women and training groups for male baterers. Court-mandated couples will be video-taped and interviewed prior to the beginning of the 24-week program and at the end of the program. The video-taped interactions will be coded using Gottman's schemes. The interview consists of sociodemographic questions, probes related to violence in the individuals' families of origin, and standard instruments measuring levels and frequency of abuse, psychological functioning, attitudes toward women, alcoholism, and hostility. The women's groups consist of two components: support and education. The latter includes segments on the nature and types of violence, the cycles of violence, abused women's rights, self-esteem, health issues, HIV/AIDS, legal matters, parenting, child development, and sexuality. The men's training groups are modeled after the Men Stopping Violence program and the San Francisco ManAlive Latino baterers' program and tailored to the specific needs of Atlanta's Latino communities. Success of the intervention will be evaluated on decreased levels and frequency of abuse, enhanced psychological functioning, decreased frequency of intoxication, and a more open attitude towards women. This pilot project will generate norms on Spanish versions of instruments, a clearer understanding of Latino couples' interactions, and an evaluation of a community intervention that, within a cultural framework, utilizes community agencies and the court system to deal with domestic violence among Latinos.
