Do cultural differences influence batterer intervention program outcomes? A study with Spanish and Latin American offenders

© 2015 Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid. Producido por Elsevier España, S.L.U. Todos los derechos reservados. This study analyzed, first, if there were any differences in attitudes towards partner violence (i.e., perceived severity, victim blaming, and acceptability), responsibility attributions, sexism, and risk of recidivism between Latin American immigrants and Spanish offenders convicted of intimate-partner violence at the beginning of a batterer intervention program. Second, differences in the batterer intervention program outcomes between Spanish and Latin American offenders were explored. The sample consisted of 278 batterers (211 Spanish and 67 Latin American) who participated in a community-based batterer intervention program. Results showed significant differences between Spanish and Latin American offenders in perceived severity, victim blaming, violence against women acceptability, and benevolent sexism. Regarding batterer intervention program outcomes, results showed that despite initial differences between Spanish and Latin American offenders, both groups benefit equally from the intervention.