Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: Most abusive men enter treatment after a prolonged history of abusive behavior, usually following arrest and adjudication (Gondolf, 2002). Although research has found engagement in and completion of domestic violence treatment to be strongly associated with reduced recidivism, participants often drop out prematurely (Daly & Pelowski, 2000).

A successful brief intervention, Motivation Enhancement Therapy (MET), first developed for alcohol abusers as The Drinkers' Check-Up, offers a potentially effective model for reaching abusive men and motivating them to seek and complete treatment (Miller, Sovereign, & Krege, 1988). An adaptation of this brief intervention is currently being evaluated by a Stage IB trial funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Men's Domestic Abuse Check-Up (MDACU) was designed to reach non-adjudicated, untreated, substance-using men who abuse their female or male partners and motivate them to phone a confidential program to talk about their behaviors and learn about treatment options. The taboo nature of the issue and its widespread presence in nearly all demographic niches required recruitment from the general population using a unique marketing campaign.

Although there have been several domestic violence awareness-raising campaigns, most have not been evaluated for their effectiveness. Moreover, few targeted behavior change or were a call-to-action as is the MDACU. Guided by McGuire's (1985) communication and persuasion matrix, this paper discusses the development, implementation and effectiveness of MDACU's recruitment marketing campaign. It provides researchers, policymakers, and practitioners a model for recruitment efforts in reaching perpetrators of intimate partner violence, an underserved population.

Methods: A variety of marketing channels, including radio and print ads, news coverage, flyers and referrals, were used to recruit participants. MDACU's campaign was designed to appeal to men who are in an early phase of readiness to change (DiClemente & Prochaska, 1985). The ad content portrayed an abusive man's thoughts about his behavior, uncertainty about the severity of consequences of those behaviors, and the possibility of changing his behavior.

Results: By the mid-point of the study's 14-month recruitment window, 194 men had called the project. On target with recruitment goals, 73 substance-using abusive men had enrolled in the project. A total of 124 men are expected to enroll by the end of the trial (September, 2007). Overall, 86 percent of the callers were recruited from three marketing channels: radio ads (60%), newspaper ads (19%), and newspaper stories (7%). Remaining callers were recruited from other means, including family or friend, flyers and professional referral. Additional results will evaluate enrollment rates and demographic differences as a function of marketing channel.

Implications: Prevention and early intervention in intimate partner violence demands a unique and effective marketing strategy. This timely paper offers theory-based and outcome-driven tools to researchers and community agencies for implementing a marketing campaign to reach abusive men.