Abstract
Motivational interviewing is a brief non-confrontational intervention designed to enhance motivation to reduce harmful behavior (Miller and Rollnick 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing as a targeted prevention approach for partner aggression in emerging adulthood. Participants were 50 college dating couples between 18 and 25 years old who reported at least one act of male-to-female physical aggression in their current relationships. After completing a 2-hour assessment session, half of all couples were randomly assigned to a 2-hour individualized motivational feedback session targeting physical aggression and risk factors for aggression. The remaining couples received minimal, non-motivational feedback. Follow-up surveys were conducted 3, 6, and 9 months later. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that, compared to the control condition, the motivational feedback intervention led to reductions in physical aggression and harmful alcohol use and to less acceptance of female psychological aggression and male psychological aggression (among women only). Lagged analyses indicated that changes in physical aggression were predicted by reductions in psychological aggression and by lower acceptance of both male and female psychological aggression. Reductions in physical aggression predicted lower anxiety and greater relationship investment and male relationship commitment over time. These findings suggest that a brief motivational intervention is a useful prevention approach for high-risk dating couples, with benefits to both individual and relationship functioning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arias, I., & Johnson, P. (1989). Evaluations of physical aggression among intimate dyads. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 298–307.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.
Atkins, D. (2005). Using multilevel models to analyze couple and family treatment data: Basic and advanced issues. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 98–110.
Babcock, J. C., Green, C. E., & Robie, C. (2004). Does batterers’ treatment work? A meta-analytic review of domestic violence treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 1023–1053.
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 56, 893–897.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory—Second Edition (BDI-II), Manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Buehlman, K. T., Gottman, J. M., & Katz, L. F. (1992). How a couple views their past predicts their future: Predicting divorce from an oral history interview. Journal of Family Psychology, 5, 295–318.
Carey, K. B., Carey, M. P., Maisto, S. A., & Henson, J. M. (2006). Brief motivational interventions for heavy college drinkers: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 943–954.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cohen, S., & O’Leary, K. D. (2002). Development and validation of the Fear of Partner Scale: A screening measure for conjoint therapy. Reno, NV: Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy.
Cordova, J. V., Scott, R. L., Dorian, M., Mirgain, S., Yaeger, D., & Groot, A. (2005). The Marriage Checkup: An indicated preventive intervention for treatment-avoidant couples at risk for marital deterioration. Behavior Therapy, 36, 301–309.
Foran, H. M., & O’Leary, K. D. (2008). Alcohol and intimate partner violence: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 1222–1234.
Foshee, V., McNaughton Reyes, H., & Wyckoff, S. (2009). Approaches to preventing psychological, physical, and sexual partner abuse. Psychological and physical aggression in couples: Causes and interventions (pp. 165–189). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Grissom, R. (2000). Heterogeneity of variance in clinical data. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 155–165.
Heyman, R. E., & Schlee, K. A. (1997). Toward a better estimate of the prevalence of partner abuse: Adjusting rates based on the sensitivity of the Conflict Tactics Scale. Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 332–338.
Institute of Medicine. (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Lawrence, E., & Bradbury, T. N. (2007). Trajectories of change in physical aggression and marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 236–247.
Litt, M. D., Kadden, R. M., Kabela-Cormier, E., & Petry, N. M. (2008). Coping skills training and contingency management treatments for marijuana dependence: Exploring mechanisms of behavior change. Addiction, 103, 638–648.
Magdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Newman, D. L., Fagan, J., & Silva, P. A. (1997). Gender differences in partner violence in a birth cohort of 21-year-olds: Bridging the gap between clinical and epidemiological approaches. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 65, 68–78.
Marlatt, G. A., Baer, J. S., Kivlahan, D. R., Dimeff, L. A., Larimer, M. E., Quigley, L. A., et al. (1998). Screening and brief intervention for high-risk college student drinkers: Results from a 2-year follow-up assessment. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 66, 604–615.
Miller, W. R. (1983). Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 11, 147–172.
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change (2nd ed). New York: Guilford.
Miller, W. R., Sovereign, R. G., & Krege, B. (1988). Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers: II. The Drinker’s Check-up as a preventive intervention. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 16, 251–268.
Monti, P. M., Barnett, N. P., Colby, S. M., Gwaltney, C. J., Spirito, A., Rohsenow, D. J., et al. (2007). Motivational interviewing versus feedback only in emergency care for young adult problem drinking. Addiction, 102, 1234–1243.
Moyer, A., Finney, J. W., Swearingen, C. E., & Vergun, P. (2002). Brief interventions for alcohol problems: A meta-analytic review of controlled investigations in treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking populations. Addiction, 97, 279–292.
Moyers, T., Martin, T., Catley, D., Harris, K. J., & Ahluwalia, J. S. (2003a). Assessing the integrity of motivational interviewing interventions: Reliability of the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 31, 177–184.
Moyers, T. B., Martin, T., Manuel, J. K., & Miller, W. R. (2003b). The Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code: Version 2.0. Available on the World Wide Web at: motivationalinterviewing.org.
Moyers, T. B., Miller, W. R., & Hendrickson, S. M. L. (2005). How does motivational interviewing work? Therapist interpersonal skill predicts client involvement within motivational interviewing sessions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 590–598.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of Intimate Partner Violence against Women in the United States. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
O’Leary, K. D. (1999). Developmental and affective issues in assessing and treating partner aggression. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 400–414.
O’Leary, K. D., & Slep, A. M. S. (2003). A dyadic longitudinal model of adolescent dating aggression. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 314–327.
O’Leary, K. D., & Woodin, E. M. (2005). Partner aggression and problem drinking across the lifespan: How much do they decline? Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 877–894.
O’Leary, K. D., Woodin, E. M., & Fritz, P. T. (2006). Can we prevent the hitting? Implications for the prevention of partner violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 13, 125–181.
Raudenbush, S., Brennan, R., & Barnett, R. (1995). A multivariate hierarchical model for studying psychological change within married couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 161–174.
Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Raudenbush, S., Bryk, A., & Congdon, R. (2006). HLM6: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International, Inc.
Rusbult, C. E., Martz, J. M., & Agnew, C. R. (1998). The Investment Model Scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Personal Relationships, 5, 357–391.
Saunders, J. B., Aasland, O. G., Babor, T. F., de la Puente, J. R., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Screening Test (AUDIT). WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption. II. Addiction, 88, 791–804.
Schumacher, J. A., & Slep, A. M. S. (2004). Attitudes and dating aggression: A cognitive dissonance approach. Prevention Science, 5, 231–243.
Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Slep, A., Cascardi, M., Avery-Leaf, S., & O’Leary, K. (2001). Two new measures of attitudes about the acceptability of teen dating aggression. Psychological Assessment, 13, 306–318.
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 38, 15–28.
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316.
Stith, S. M., Rosen, K. H., Middleton, K. A., Busch, A. L., Lundeberg, K., & Carlton, R. P. (2000). The intergenerational transmission of spouse abuse: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 62, 640–654.
Taft, C. T., Vogt, D. S., Mechanic, M. B., & Resick, P. A. (2007). Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health symptoms among women seeking help for relationship aggression. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 354–362.
Wilson, D. B., Gottfredson, D. C., & Najaka, S. S. (2001). School-based prevention of problem behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 17, 247–272.
Wilson, S. J., & Lipsey, M. W. (2007). School-based interventions for aggressive and disruptive behavior: Update of a meta-analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33, s130–s143.
Woodin, E. M., & O’Leary, K. D. (2006). Partner aggression severity as a risk-marker for male and female violence recidivism. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 32, 283–296.
Acknowledgements
Portions of this article were presented at the 2008 meeting of the Society for Prevention Research in San Francisco, CA, and at the 2008 meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Orlando, FL. This research was supported by NIMH grant F31MH071047 awarded to the first author and NIMH grant R01HMH057985 awarded to the second author. Special thanks go to Christopher Murphy for feedback on the design of this study and to Arthur Aron and Marvin Goldfried for comments on an earlier draft of this article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Woodin, E.M., O’Leary, K.D. A Brief Motivational Intervention for Physically Aggressive Dating Couples. Prev Sci 11, 371–383 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0176-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0176-3