Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Violence Vict. 2024 Aug 6;39(3):243-262. doi: 10.1891/VV-2022-0159.
Men's use of domestic violence is a major public health issue globally. However, the potential for technology to address this issue has been limited within research and practice. This study aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of an online healthy relationship tool (BETTER MAN) for men who have used domestic violence to encourage help-seeking. A pre- and postsurvey with a 3-month follow-up was used. One hundred and forty men enrolled, with retention rates of 79% (111) immediately after BETTER MAN and 62% (86) at 3 months. Participants were diverse men (mean age of 32 years, 33% born outside Australia, 19% in same-sex relationships, and 2% Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander). The majority (70%, 58) of men reported behaviors classified as moderate risk (e.g., checked partner's phone, picked on partner, and controlled money) and 24% (20) as high-risk behaviors (e.g., scared partner, physical force, and unwanted sexual activities). Post BETTER MAN, there was a significant increase in to contact counseling service (baseline 5.8, immediately 6.7, and 3-month follow-up 7.2) and in the ability to seek help (baseline 3.7, immediately 5.1, and 3-month follow-up 7.2). Men's median score significantly moved from baseline (5.9-I am not ready to take action), immediately (6.7-I am ready to make some changes), and 3-month follow-up (7.2-I have begun to change my behavior). At 3-month follow-up, 55% (47/86) of men reported accessing counseling services compared with 34% (46/140) of men at baseline. Findings suggest that it is feasible that BETTER MAN might work to engage men to seek help and is acceptable to men using domestic violence. However, a large-scale randomized controlled trial is needed to determine the effectiveness of BETTER MAN on help-seeking behaviors for men's use of domestic violence.
男性使用家庭暴力是一个全球性的主要公共卫生问题。然而，技术在研究和实践中解决这个问题的潜力有限。本研究旨在测试一种在线健康关系工具（BETTER MAN）对使用家庭暴力的男性寻求帮助的可行性和可接受性。使用了预调查和后调查，并进行了 3 个月的随访。共有 140 名男性参与，BETTER MAN 后立即的保留率为 79%（111 名），3 个月时为 62%（86 名）。参与者是多样化的男性（平均年龄 32 岁，33%出生在澳大利亚以外，19%是同性关系，2%是土著或托雷斯海峡岛民）。大多数男性（70%，58 名）报告的行为被归类为中度风险（例如，查看伴侣的手机、挑剔伴侣、控制金钱），24%（20 名）为高风险行为（例如，恐吓伴侣、身体暴力和非自愿的性活动）。BETTER MAN 后，与咨询服务联系的意愿显著增加（基线 5.8，立即 6.7，3 个月随访 7.2），寻求帮助的能力也显著增加（基线 3.7，立即 5.1，3 个月随访 7.2）。男性的中位数评分从基线（5.9-我还没有准备好采取行动）、立即（6.7-我准备做出一些改变）和 3 个月随访（7.2-我已经开始改变我的行为）显著移动。在 3 个月随访时，与基线时的 34%（46/140 名）相比，55%（47/86 名）的男性报告已经接受了咨询服务。研究结果表明，BETTER MAN 可能有助于促使男性寻求帮助，并且对使用家庭暴力的男性是可接受的。然而，需要进行大规模的随机对照试验来确定 BETTER MAN 对男性使用家庭暴力寻求帮助行为的有效性。
