EFFECTS OF SKILL‐BASED VERSUS INFORMATION‐BASED DIVORCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND PARENTAL COMMUNICATION

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/j.174-1617.1998.tb00491.x
AuthorJack Arbuthnot,Kevin M. Kramer,Joann Hoza,Nicholas J. Rousis,Donald A. Gordon
Date01 January 1998
Published date01 January 1998
EFFECTS
OF
SKILL-BASED VERSUS
INFORMATION-BASED DIVORCE EDUCATION
PROGRAMS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AND PARENTAL COMMUNICATION
Kevin M. Kramer, Jack Arbuthnot, Donald
A.
Gordon,
Nicholas J. Rousis, and Joann Hoza
This
study
used a pre-
and
postevaluation with a conrrol group to compare the effecriveness
of
Iwo
divorce education programs: skill-bared Children in the Male (CIM)
and
infomtion-
based Children First in Divorce (CFD). Each treatment group consisted of approximately
125
divorcingparents mandated to attend divorce education in Florida The control group consisted
of
64
divorcing parents not mandated to attend divorce education in Alabama for lack
of
a
program. Treatment
and
control parents lived in comparable cities with comparable demograph-
ics. Results indicate that CIM, not CFD, improvedparental communication. Both CIMand CFD
reduced child exposure to parental conflict. Neither program had effects
on
domestic violence,
actual
parental conflict,
or
child behavior problems. Across all groups, parents
with
greater divorce
knowledge
and
communication
skills
experienced more reciprocal discussions with the other
parent, less parental conflict, less domestic violence,
and
they exposed children to less conflict.
Mounting evidence suggests that educational interventions for divorcing
parents can enhance parents' understanding
of
their children's experience,
parents' knowledge
of
effective postdivorce parenting practices, and parents'
ability to communicate and cooperate effectively to reduce children's
expo-
sure to conflict (Arbuthnot
&
Gordon, 1996b; Arbuthnot, Poole,
&
Gordon,
1996;
Kramer, 1997; Kurkowski, 1996; Wolchik, West, Westover,
&
Sandler,
1993). There
also
is
evidence indicating that programs have community-level
impact. Arbuthnot, Kramer, and Gordon (1997) found that over a 2-year
period, parents who had attended a program had relitigated over all issues
(including custody, child support, and domestic violence) less than half as
often
as
parents who had not attended a program and that relitigation rates
were related to skills mastery. In addition, parents consistently report high
Authon'
Note:
Kevin Kramer wishes to thank The Centerfor Divorce Education forfunding the
st^,
his
superb undergraduate research team
of
bra Schneider;
Shawn
Judson,
Chad
Shon,
and
Glenn Matthews;
and
Joann
Horn and Nick
Rousis
OfHope Haven Children's
Clinic in Juchonville,
Floriah,
for
administering
the programs
and
collecting
data.
FAMILY AND CONCILIATION COURTS
REVIEW,
Vol.
36
NO.
1.
JaIlUU'Y
1998 9-31
Q
1998
Sage
Publications,
Inc.
9
10
FAMILY
AND
CONCILIATION COURTS
REVIEW
client satisfaction with divorce education programs (Arbuthnot
&
Gordon,
1996a;
Kramer
&
Washo,
1993;
Petersen
&
Steinman,
1994).
Although recent evidence attests to the effectiveness of some divorce
education programs, most programs have not been evaluated for effective-
ness, and others have shown few or no effects (Buehler, Betz, Ryan, Legg,
&Trotter,
1992;
Kramer
&
Washo,
1993;
Stolberg &Garrison,
1985).
Careful
empirical research is needed
to
determine wh.ich content, instructional strate-
gies, and programmatic characteristics produce desired changes and which
do not. In this study, we addressed two important professional issues facing
divorce educators: the effects of divorce education on the incidence of
domestic violence and the comparative outcomes of programs that are skill
versus information based in content.
DIVORCE EDUCATION
AND
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
There
is
debate about the appropriateness of divorce education for couples
who experience domestic violence. It is unclear whether interventions that
promote parental communication and cooperation increase or decrease do-
mestic violence (e.g.,
Hart,
1990).
It
has
been estimated that
ll%
to
12%
of
men have been physically violent toward their wives, and
24%
to
30%
of
women suffer from other forms of domestic abuse, including verbal threats,
vicious criticism, unwanted monitoring of activities, destruction of property
or
pets,
and financial control (Sun
&
Woods,
1989).
Although evidence
suggests that equivalent numbers of women and men commit violent
acts
against one another, the incidence of severe injury is substantially higher for
women than for men (Cantos, Neidig,
&
O'Leary,
1994).
Domestic violence
is believed not only
to
have harmful effects on women but
also
to have
harmful effects on children (Fantuzzo
&
Lindquist,
1989).
Increasingly,
California courts have been ruling against violent spouses, not only charging
and sentencing them for direct spousal abuse but
also
for endangering the
mental health of their children (National Center for Prosecution of Child
Abuse,
1996).
Divorce education programs frequently are
used
to reduce parental con-
flict and facilitate both formal agreement programs such
as
mediation, and
informal agreements such as deciding children's daily activities (e.g., doctor
visits, clothing purchases). Although divorce education programs have been
shown to reduce reported parental conflict (Arbuthnot
&
Gordon,
1996b;
Kramer
&
Washo,
1993)
and relitigation rates (Arbuthnot et al., 1997), the
impact of divorce education programs on domestic violence is not known.
It

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